Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

354 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 of early childhood guidance is the BUSting with Learning initiative, which provides free literacy resources and activities to students in the community and keeps children engaged in learning to help prevent the summer slide. STEM Initiatives and Innovative Opportunities The district’s commitment to STEM education is exemplified by the K-8 STEM Center, providing a centralized space for hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math projects. A planetarium housed at John Glenn High School also enhances learning, allowing students to partake in the immersive experience, complemented by STEM activities. Five students from Walker-Winter Elementary School sent their science experiments into space, as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 17. Additionally, an art class contributed by creating patches sent with the experiment and then returned to the students embossed as “flown in space.” “It’s a pretty cool thing,” Dignan remarks. “And it was a direct result of our K-8 STEM Center planting seeds across the district to create some of these organic movements that we’re starting to see, especially around teaching and learning.” Wayne-Westland Community Schools also supports students through a free elementary athletics program, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) initiative. The program offers a variety of sports, including flag football, soccer, basketball and cheer. With hundreds of student participants, these opportunities promote physical activity and encourage interaction and a sense of community among peers. The district will soon be launching a driver’s education program through a $250,000 grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Transportation. “When we talked to skilled trades training centers in the area, I asked them what two barriers are for young people in getting employment,” Dignan expands, “One was marijuana, and the second one was kids don’t have their driver’s license. Segments one and two are costly, and some families are economically challenged within our community.