CHAMPAIGN,Ill. – Parents of preschoolers who want to explore and ask questions about the opportunities available at the new Booker T. Washington Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics magnet elementary school in Champaign are invited to a panel discussion Feb. 16 (Wednesday) on the University of Illinois campus.
The discussion, which will include representatives from Booker T. Washington, the Champaign Unit 4 School District and units at the U. of I., will be from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Alice B. Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana. Free parking in Lot D22 (southwest corner of Lincoln Avenue and Oregon Street, Urbana) is available after 4 p.m.
“The creation of a brand-new school focused on STEM is a great opportunity for children and families in Unit 4,” said Lizanne DeStefano, the director of the Illinois STEM Education Initiative, the Fox Family Professor of Education and a professor of educational psychology at the U. of I.
The discussion is sponsored by Entrepreneurial Leadership in STEM Teaching and Learning, a partnership among the university, Champaign Unit 4, McLean County Unit 5, Thornton Township High School District 205 and Urbana School District 116. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the partnership provides professional development opportunities for teachers who will focus on STEM education at the new school in addition to the traditional core areas of reading, language arts, social studies, music, art and physical education.
The panelists: Asia Fuller-Hamilton, principal at Washington; Dorland Norris, deputy superintendent of curriculum design, educational services and equity for Champaign Unit 4; Fouad-Abd-El-Khalick, co-principal investigator of the EnLiST partnership and professor of science education in the department of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education; Anita M. Martin, EnLiST project director in the department of curriculum and instruction; and DeStefano.
More about EnList is available online.
