Fremont STEM Academy to focus on science, technology, engineering and math
By Robert Cloud
The Weyauwega-Fremont School District is in the process of creating a charter school.
The Fremont STEM Academy will focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
John Ohlson will be the new charter school’s principal. He is currently the district’s elementary principal.
“We really want to see what kind of opportunities we can offer our students, families and community,” Ohlson said.
The Academy’s goal is to foster ingenuity through hands-on experiences using project-based learning.
“The charter school creates an environment where students will have a lot of direction and choice in their learning,” Ohlson said. “They will pick their projects.”
Ohlson said project-based education gives students a strong sense of ownership of their learning.
“A feeling of autonomy over task, time, team and technique has a powerful effect on performance and attitude. Encouraging autonomy does not mean discouraging accountability, but having control over task, time, team and technique as a pathway to learning,” according to the Fremont STEM Academy grant application to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Students also develop team skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and flexibility.
“This skill set equips the Academy students with the 21st century tools necessary for both college-readiness and careers in local, national, and global markets,” the grant application says.
Timeline
During the 2021-22 school year, the Academy will train staff in project-based learning and hire new staff who will help lead the planning and implementation of the STEM process at the new school, which will be located at the existing elementary school building in Fremont.
“The district made a commitment to keep the elementary school in Fremont,” Ohlson said.
The Academy will be open to fifth- and sixth-grade students starting in the 2022-23 school year. Another grade level will be added each year until it includes the full middle school, fifth through eighth grades.
Ohlson said the Fremont building will have space for two schools: a traditional K-5 elementary school and a fifth- through eighth-grade charter school.
Poverty
“The Weyauwega Fremont School District’s student population includes 35.6% of its students being economically disadvantaged. The Academy will tackle the effects of poverty on students’ attitudes and achievement at the middle school level,” according to the grant application.
Project-based learning makes school more challenging for lower-income or at-risk students, while giving them the opportunity to engage with peers and teachers.
“This comprehensive approach is designed to support academically disadvantaged students through exposure to new experiences and ideas via technology, hands-on engagement, a ‘community school approach,’ partnerships with local business, and the focus on challenges of our at-risk youth,” the grant application says.