Samsung is giving $1,000,000 to schools, in their “Solve for Tomorrow” video contest. Twenty-five schools, nationwide, are each awarded a video camcorder, Adobe photo/video editing software, and a computer, to create a video on the effects of STEM in improving school environments and their communities. Schools enter this contest by going to a website, www.samsung.com/solvefortomorrow, filling out an application, and answering questions about how the contest would apply to their school. Sutter Middle School, in Folsom, California, is one of the semi-finalists. The goal of the class is to promote the Project Lead the Way 2 course, in order to get students excited about STEM in the classroom. Local businesses work with Sacramento’s organization, LEED (http://www.leed.org), Linking Education and Economic Development), to encourage the growth of STEM through Project Lead the Way (http://www.pltw.org), a national organization that promotes STEM curriculum through engineering and biotechnology), in order to train our students to work in local businesses. The partnerships fostered with Sutter Middle School start students on an exciting journey to a career where they can give back, in the future, to the community that gives to them now.
STEM-based professions are short of candidates. Debbie Krikourian has been teaching Project Lead the Way for five years. The curriculum uses the project-based learning process to turn students on to learning STEM. Students enter contests, such as: Intel International Science, Math and Engineering Fair, Folsom High Regatta (boat building contest), Council of Educational Facility Planners International’s (CEFPI) “School of the Future”, and Robotics. They use the engineering design process to implement STEM into real life projects and to solve problems. Community professionals from Intel, Rainforth Grau Architects, Williams + Paddon Architects, California Government Affairs Director of the Sacramento Association of Realtors, and the Folsom Mayor are among those that mentor the students. Students are given an opportunity to work with community members, while striving to meet personal project goals. This year, Mrs. Krikourian’s seventh grade students placed first in the Northern California School of the Future contest.

The Samsung video promotes students to register for the Project Lead the Way 2 class. Girls are featured, to convince other girls that STEM is fun. The video will be used to promote the first “all girls” Project Lead the Way 2 class at Sutter, as well. It will be uploaded on YouTube.com, January 31, 2012, for a public vote. The video with the most votes will receive $100,000 of products, software, and programming, from Samsung, Microsoft, the Adobe Foundation, and DirecTV. Watch for details on how to vote for the Project Lead the Way 2 video on Facebook and Twitter.

Go to www.mrsk.net for details on voting for Sutter Middle School.