It’s a year of STEAM at CMLE! Each week we admire some aspect of STEAM education that is being tried by people and organizations all over the place.

We applaud schools trying new things in the science, technology, engineering, and math areas; then when they add in art programs, the kids who get these advantages really can shine!

Check out this program for the Boston Public schools, helped out by a community group. Reaching out to your community to help with ideas, with funding, and with other assistance can really make your school’s STEAM so successful! (Read the excerpt below, and click on the link to get the whole thing!)

Putting an A in STEM education – ARCK celebrates 8th anniversary

The Art Resource Collaborative for Kids is celebrating 8 years working with Boston Public Schools to bring the Arts into STEM education

“”Most people have heard of STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), well we see something missing there,” said ARCK Founder Sara Mraish Demeter. “Today, STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) is the gold standard and ARCK is working to put the A, the arts, in STEAM.”

ARCK hires and trains teaching artists to collaborate with classroom teachers, integrating art lessons with current classroom curriculum to address each school’s academic objectives. This combined effort makes a deeper impact on the student and fosters a broader understanding of the lesson. The program promotes social-emotional well-being, teamwork and empathy for others and is based on three modules: Leadership; Civic Engagement; and Social Justice.

ARCK’s core program runs for 36 weeks during the school year and is offered free to Boston public school students in grades K-8, many of which come from underserved communities in Boston. The program currently serves thousands of BPS students but hopes to triple those numbers in the near future.