SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — All it takes is one. One spark or one experience can change the course of someone’s life. That’s why St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Memphis-Shelby County Schools are working together, teaching young minds about STEM and life.
At Vollentine Elementary, students like Semaja Benton are eager to learn.
“My favorite subject is math,” said Benton. “My teacher calls me a human calculator.”
Dressed in their white coats, these 5th grade students are skilled in science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM.
Principal Crystal Watts Peterson says her students come to school every day prepared and ready to learn.
“I said, ‘What are you going tell them when they see you and your white coats?’ And they're like, ‘We're scientists!’, said Peterson. “I want them to embrace that.”
This lab is their playground, every Tuesday after school.
“It started with just this partnership with St. Jude, five years ago,” said Peterson.
According to St. Jude’s Director of STEM Education and Outreach Kate Ayers, it’s a popular program and partnership that continues to grow.
“We are in around 24 schools, and that's kind of our capacity,” said Ayers. “We have a wait list now.”
This is one of several programs between the school district and the children’s hospital.
For the 2022-23 school year, the St. Jude K-12 Cancer Education and Outreach program includes:
- Kindergarten Collaborative
- Cancer Education at Home Kits
- St. Jude After-school STEM Clubs and St. Jude Community Health Clubs
- Cancer Education in the Classroom Loan Kits,
- St. Jude Science Ambassadors Program
- Virtual Science Journal Clubs
- Cancer Control and Disparities Fellowship
- The High School and College Research Immersion Program
With the help of St. Jude and school coordinators, kids as young as kindergarten through 12th grade are learning about cancers, viruses and other case studies.
“We work together to co create curriculum for integrating more science and hands on experiments in the classroom setting,” said Ayers.
And most of all, kids, like Benton, feel both engaged and inspired.
“One thing I really love about STEM Club is how they always motivate us and let us know that we can achieve anything you want to be in life,” said Benton.
Because they can.
“I will say, Vallentine, our school is predominantly Black,” said Principal Peterson. “Most of our students are economically disadvantaged, but it does not stop them from wanting to learn more, wanting to do more.”
With the right guidance and instruction, the sky’s the limit for these young minds.
“When I see these young people, I have nothing but hope for our future,” said Ayers.
Not only are the kids having fun, they’re learning. According to Principal Peterson, her students scored higher in science than math and reading on last year’s TCAP test. That’s why they believe the program is working.
