i wanted to provide some context around the enrichment vote and also speak up for retaining a STEAM Lab at Vista Grande. I have been teaching at Vista Grande as the STEAM Lab teacher for 18 years and taught both 4^th and 2^nd grade here, and three years at another school before coming to Vista Grande.

Vista Grande has had science as a focus for our enrichment for as long as the “prep” time program has existed with our district. While there were some years that we also had PE for a couple days a week, the main enrichment has always been science. The amount of enrichment we receive is based on the number of students, and, therefore, the number of teachers at our school. Our closest neighboring schools also have science, and I believe that this is one of the attractions for parents to choose Vista Grande. Eliminating STEAM in favor of PE might encourage parents to choose Tierrasanta or Kumeyaay instead of us and would further reduce our enrollment. If our enrollment were to grow, we would have the opportunity to offer one full time enrichment teacher and then also a partial enrichment teacher. The partial position could be in any enrichment area, and at this point it is too early to know the needs for the 2025-2026 school year. Decisions regarding the 2025-2026 school year do not need to be turned in until February 1st of 2025.

STEAM is an enrichment area that allows for brain growth and creative exploration. Classroom teachers are responsible for teaching the grade level science content, but the STEAM lab gives an opportunity to reinforce and go beyond those standards. All of the activities that occur in the STEAM Lab are standards-based, but not just in the NGSS science and engineering standards. I also cover technology and computer standards, art standards, and integrate math practice as it applies to all of those areas. I have a standards reference page on the website and in a binder in my classroom. There is no set curriculum for any enrichment program, and I spend a lot of my personal time developing or adapting lessons from a variety of resources.

The unique perspective and opportunity that I personally bring to the enrichment position is that I have multiple credentials and experiences. This includes a multiple subject teaching credential, a single subject in science, an art supplemental (can teach art UTK-8^th grade), and many upper division units and experience with educational technology. All of these benefit our students.

I believe very strongly that our enrichment focus should continue to be focused on STEAM but also include visual arts. I am in favor of including more art opportunities in the STEAM lab, whether it is through the enrichment of STEAM or VAPA – both can be achieved, as I am credentialed to teach both of these areas. While I believe sticking with STEAM gives the broadest opportunities for students, choosing visual and media arts, or, at least, including it in the STEAM Lab more frequently would be very meaningful for our children. I have done surveys, and students pick both art and robotics/technology as the areas they wish they could experience more frequently.  I can deliver both of those through the STEAM Lab or a combination of STEAM and VAPA in media and visual arts.

If the school were to switch to Physical Education, the students would no longer get robotics, coding, or engineering. Science would be limited to what classroom teachers can get to, as the district puts a high priority on language arts and math. Additionally, the District has NOT made it a priority to adopt a good quality science curriculum and has done little to support the teaching of science in an elementary classroom. This is District-wide and not specifically for our site. Most of the PE teachers in our district ONLY have a single subject credential and do not also hold a multiple subject as I do. Schools often choose to have PE as their enrichment emphasis for one main reason – to cover the state required PE minutes. I do agree that students should have the benefit of a specialized PE teacher, but not at the loss of STEAM. Most of our students do have the opportunity to participate in after school sports programs, but there aren’t as many opportunities for STEM or STEAM programs. Those that exist are often inaccessible for Title 1 students and are not taught by a credentialed teacher. Classroom teachers at Vista Grande, Kumeyaay, and Tierrasanta all provide the required PE minutes in favor of what a science or STEAM program can also offer their students and have been doing so for 30 years.

I love my school, my staff, and my students and work hard to support them in a variety of ways. Not only in the teaching of STEAM, but also in representation on committees, by publishing the yearbook, website, and more. I also have experience with special needs, as some of my own children received special education services while still in school. While I am not perfect, I believe that I teach with compassion and curiosity and I am not afraid to try new things and go down new paths.

Mrs. Allard

Mrs. Allard has been teaching science/STEAM enrichment for 18 years. Prior to teaching STEAM, she taught at Vista Grande in the regular classroom, and at King Elementary prior to that. She has a multiple subject credential, a single subject credential in science, an art supplemental, a BA in Art, a MA in curriculum and instruction, and has 25+ credits in educational technology from San Diego State University. This is a unique combination of credentials that most enrichment teachers do not have, as the only requirement to teach enrichment is to have a single subject in the emphasis area. In addition she has lead teacher trainings in the Next Generational Science Standards, is a current OpenSciEd Facilitator (developing science curriculum), a member of the 1:1 Ambassador Program (SDUSD Ed Tech), and is a representative for Enrichment teachers across the District through joint committees with the San Diego Educators Association and San Diego Unified School District.

She is the mother of 5 adult children, including triplet daughters, another daughter, and a son. All of her children attended Vista Grande. Three of those children are on the autistic spectrum, which gives Mrs. Allard a unique perspective on students with special education services.

Mrs. Allard also publishes the Vista Grande Yearbook, the Vista Grande website, and her own classroom website.

STEAM Lab and Enrichment

The STEAM Lab is a place for exploration, enrichment, and enhancing student learning in all areas of STEAM. It is not a stand-in for regular classroom science. Elementary classroom teachers are responsible for teaching the curriculum in all areas – language arts, math, science, social studies, PE, etc. Enrichment is for broadening and enhancing student experience in whatever subject area is being taught. 

The beauty of having access to a STEAM Lab is that students can gain integrated experiences in science, but also skills in all areas iof STEAM. Besides science, the STEAM Lab also teaches robotics, digital citizenship, coding, animation, graphic arts, and more. The jobs of tomorrow require creative and fluid skills and the STEAM Lab can provide the first experiences for children that they may not have the opportunity to explore anywhere else. These are all activities that the regular classroom teacher cannot provide. San Diego Unified School District has been working on their Vision 2030, and the STEAM Lab activities fit right into that vision in many ways.

There is a lot of flexibility in the area of STEAM, as it hits on so many different areas!

Computer Use

Students in grades 1st and up do use computers in the STEAM Lab frequently, and the use does increase with 3rd-5th. This is especially important in the upper grades because secondary school teachers do rely heavily on delivering content and work through Google Classroom or Canvas. The STEAM Lab is a great place to get initial exposures to these platforms so that they are already familiar to them before starting middle school.

UTK and K will have some exposure to technology with iPads, as will the other grade levels. Computers and technology are tools for learning. Students are not idly using computers as a means of entertainment, but have specific tasks and goals they are working on, and the activities are intertwined with science, engineering, and art. Primarily they are used for creating a digital version of a science notebook, Google Form quizzes and surveys, robotics coding, and engaging apps that are specifically focused on STEAM components. We also practice different tools for recording data, research, making observations, and more. Each resource is carefully selected to enhance STEAM learning.

SDUSD is very supportive of building digital citizens of the future and it is expected that student get practice in using technology in a variety of ways,. They are also expected to make use of the  technology responsibly. Students are monitored for appropriate computer use and do run the risk of having computer privileges taken away if they are not on task or are “tab-switching”. While both classroom teachers and enrichment teachers monitor student computer use, ultimately it is the responsibility of the child to make positive choices. This is part of the focus on “digital citizenship” activities.

That being said, students are not always on computers. We also use regular science notebooks and complete paper-pencil tasks as well.

Standards

Below are separate tabs that show the different standards that may be taught in the STEAM Lab. Of course it is not possible to cover ALL of these standards, but this is where the standards are pulled from. We also focus on having a growth mindset, so some activities are geared toward that. A lot of our coding activities are focused on enhancing problem-solving skills that carry over to other academic areas, especially math.

Click on the plus sign below if you are interested in viewing the standards. It might take a short wait while the pdfs are pulled up.

Did you know that the district does not fund any of the supplies for the STEAM Lab beyond paper, pencils, erasers, and notebooks? The Lab relies heavily on funds from the parent Foundation, or donations through DonorsChoose.org, Amazon Wish Lists, Adopt-a-Classroom, or other funding sources. There are also often items that could be used that you may already have at home. Scroll down to see how you can help!