Crossroads Academy recently partnered with The New Hampshire Academy of Science (NHAS) to implement a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Certificate program in the 2021-2022 school year. The program acknowledges Crossroads’ student achievements and offers them an opportunity to complement the already rich Crossroads math and science curriculum with additional STEM opportunities.
Crossroads Academy has an established record of excellence in science and math education through its K-8 Core Knowledge curriculum. Fueled by interest in hands-on laboratory studies and research, Crossroads established a thriving after-school program for Middle School students in 2010. These young scientists conducted original discovery-based research in conjunction with the New Hampshire Academy of Science (NHAS). The NHAS after-school and summer programs are highly successful and have led to students publishing abstracts of their research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. These students are also inducted into the American Junior Academy of Science, the nation’s premier science honor society for secondary school students. The establishment of the STEM Certificate deepens the productive collaboration between Crossroads Academy and the NHAS.
Crossroads’ STEM Track students learn directly from NHAS professional scientists through experiments in the NHAS labs, producing a Capstone Project, completed by submission of a standard research paper to be reviewed by Crossroads’ faculty and NHAS scientists. NHAS professional scientists and Crossroads’ faculty collaborate to support STEM Track students to achieve all STEM Certificate requirements.
Last year, Crossroads academy eighth grader Gael Popescu ’22, as part of his STEM certificate project, investigated the water quality and bacteria species present in Hewes Brook and presented his findings to students in the spring. Gael is the first New Hampshire Academy of Science Crossroads student to complete a STEM certificate. This year, Crossroads has four eighth grade STEM track students who have been busily researching their projects to be completed in the spring. We asked a few of these students to share about their projects.
Grace Weinstein ‘23
Due to the drought we are experiencing, I have decided to work on building a water dispenser for pet ducks. Ducks have a hard time keeping their water inside the dispensers. They tend to splash it all over the place. My project is to make a dispenser that contains water, rather than it spilling everywhere. I just finished designing my first prototype. I am choosing to pursue a STEM certificate because I am very passionate about science, and this was a really fun opportunity for me to do it outside of school. I also feel that it is a good leadership opportunity. I had a lot of fun last year teaching second graders about plant propagation with Ellicott Smith. I really enjoy participating in the NHAS program after school for high school credit and experience because I am really passionate about a career in engineering and science (Naval Aviator of fixed-wing jets, to be exact), and I will most likely continue learning with NHAS in high school.
Ellicott Smith ‘23
I’m currently working on a project about Yellow Lady Slippers. The basis of the project is to create a better formula for growing them in the lab, which reduces the amount of time required for the seeds to germinate. This is important because Yellow Lady Slippers are endangered, and providing a way to grow them more quickly in the lab may ensure their survival as a species in Vermont and New Hampshire. Recently, Grace Lan, Lucy Tillinghast, and I tested a formula that was unsuccessful, although we learned what did not work. I have always remained curious about science, especially biology. I wanted to try STEM because it was important to me to make actual progress on something larger than my education in science classes. I have also dedicated a lot of time to growing Showy Lady Slippers in the lab so that they, too, as an endangered species, will continue to remain viable in the northern forest. My hope is that, by taking STEM, I will be able to learn what steps we can take to ensure that a valuable species remains in the world, and not just in the lab.
Crossroads’ fifth through eighth grade science teacher, Dr. Jessica Day, oversees the program at school and works with the students to ensure they are completing the necessary activities to earn their certificates. Additionally, she helps students reflect on their chosen activities to broaden their view of STEM fields and better understand their own future interests in the field. We are thrilled to be in partnership with NHAS, and to grant this special and unique opportunity to our Middle School students.
