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Detroit schools will celebrate a serious commitment to STEM and the community is invited
The ability to 'write their own ticket' is a superpower that is often applied to bright, up-and-coming, future professionals that have acquired in-demand STEM skills that make today's employers take notice.
In Detroit, at schools across the Detroit Public School Community District (DPSCD), there are dedicated teachers, administrators and other community stakeholders that talk about a 'STEM Movement,' which continues to pick up steam.
The importance of STEM education to the district will be on full display Thursday evening, June 5, during the sixth annual DPSCD STEM Awards gala that will take place within the Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School auditorium. The community is invited to attend the festivities where more than300 honorees connected to K-12 schools will be celebrated for their high achievements in a variety of STEM-related activities, including the Science & Engineering Fair of Metro Detroit, Academic Games, Math Bee, robotics and chess.
And no ticket is needed for admission to the free event, which is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm.
'You don't have to be a parent or a relative of one of the honorees to attend, if you're a part of the village and care about young people in Detroit, we hope you will show up at King High School's beautiful auditorium and cheer our young people on,' DPSCD School Board Member Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, who chairs the board's Curriculum/Academic committee and also will serve as master of ceremonies during the STEM Awards gala, stated as final preparation was being completed for Thursday's event.
Many of the students — representing more than 50 schools — that will be receiving customized trophies and medals, created with special care by Livonia-based A.J. Bros. LLC, have already had an opportunity to compete with and against other top students from outside of Detroit. For example, Detroit students and teams that participate in robotics, chess and Academic Games — a unique collection of games including math contests (Equations and On-Sets) — have regularly participated in competitions on the state and national levels.
'Often public education doesn't get its due, but we want our parents and community to know that this is what public education looks like in its most holistic form,' said Peterson-Mayberry, who will be making another happy return to King High School, where she graduated in 1992 out of the MSAT (Mathematics, Science and Applied Technology) program. 'There is a prize at the end for all the students that will be recognized because they are gaining tools that they will use in life.'
In addition to the awards presented to the students, special awards will be given to STEM coaches — representing DPSCD educators and community volunteers — that have gone above and beyond the call of duty. And then there are the Principal 3 for 3 Awards that will be awarded to principals that have made a special effort to promote STEM by providing robotics, Academic Games and chess programs at their schools.
'For our coaches and school principals that make our STEM programs successful, we just want to say thank you for dedicating their time and talent to our young people outside of the classroom,' said Peterson-Mayberry, who will be joined on the King auditorium stage throughout the program by her fellow Class of 1992 King classmate Carl Hollier, musically known as DJ Invisible, who is expected to supply doses of pulsating music and witty banter as he has done at previous DPSCD STEM Awards galas, where students make a red carpet entrance as they file into the auditorium.
Another hat that Peterson-Mayberry wears in the community includes being a Global Diversity Equity Inclusion Manager for manufacturing employees at Ford Motor Company. And as it turns out, she also will be joined on Thursday evening by others from the automotive community that have taken a special interest in STEM education at DPSCD schools, including representatives from General Motors, the sponsor of this year's STEM Awards gala, through a generous contribution made to the Detroit Public Schools Community District Foundation.
"Innovation is the heart of the automotive industry, and STEM education fuels that creativity,' General Motors' Rhonda Fields, Portfolio Lead for STEAM Education, said. 'By supporting the DPSCD STEM Awards, we're strengthening a culture of problem-solving, investing in the future workforce, and inspiring students to see the possibilities within STEM careers.
'We want young minds to know that their talents can lead to groundbreaking advancements — not just in automotive, but across many industries that shape our world."
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Special evening planned for shining STEM stars in Detroit
