Clinton Jr. High shines light on all things STEM

CLINTON, Ill. (WAND) — At Clinton Jr. High, assignments and projects are what usually gets everyone interested in STEM.

These tasks range from making your own board game, to learning about famous science pioneers.

“We know that it’s something that is definitely not going away. We like to show them all of the different options that they have. STEM education can vault somebody into a path, then a later career that maybe they weren’t thinking about,” said principal, Jim Peck.

According to STEM teacher Kayla Riedle, getting students interested in STEM now contributes majorly to their future.

“They can make something that can make a change for someone else. Everything we do, we do for purpose, and everything is not perfect the first time we do it,” said Riedle.

Students like seventh grader Mateo Anya said the classes show him just how many options he has for his future job.

“It’s also you know, kind of teaching me what can I do later on in my life and that I can be successful in things. It helps me explore my options and understand what to do in my future,” said Anya.

Riedle also believes in encouraging students to think of jobs where they're not just sitting behind a desk or in front of a computer all day.

"It's not just like sitting in class and writing notes and stuff," said Riedle. "You're actually like being active and actually doing something."