Before Christopher Scandrett became the interdisciplinary STEAM director for St. Benedict’s Episcopal School in Smryna last year, he developed curriculum and teacher training courses for Head Start and the YMCA’s early learning centers. Whenever possible, he paired activities with story books. But making those matches were often problematic.
“Most of the kids in those programs were Black and brown,” he said. “But there wasn’t a plethora of STEAM-based story books with minority or girl characters.”
So Scandrett decided he was the person to change that. He wrote a book that incorporated his own experiences growing up in a small town, sent it off to nine publishers who rejected it and finally was welcomed by a Black-owned firm that took on the project. “The Adventures of Old Swifton Road: Lee’s Incredible Journey” debuted in 2018 with a female lead who, like the author, grew up on a farm in south central Georgia, and a variety of Black and brown adventurers from various economic backgrounds. The main character is an inquisitive girl who’s into engineering and paleontology – “subjects where you don’t usually see girls – especially Black girls,” said Scandrett. And that’s the point.
“I wanted to show students that people who look like them are doing the things they want to do, whether that’s being a scientist or an astronaut,” said Scandrett. “They don’t hear a lot of stories about girls going on adventures and building things. It shows minorities in a different light. When I’ve gone into the early grades and read it to them, they’re amazed. Some of them have even gone home and written stories themselves.
Scandrett’s second book in the series, “Lee and the Mysterious Cave,” was published in January. He’s now wrapping up a third to come out next year. Meanwhile, he’s putting the lessons of Lee’s “safe and educational adventures” into his work with St Benedict’s 500 students, starting with STEAM language.
“These are fun, STEAM-based stories where there’s a lot of building,” said Scandrett. “While they’re meant to keep students entertained, they also introduce them to this sophisticated vocabulary that gets repeated frequently so they can learn it.”
Words such as project, outline, design, engineering and construct are also in each book’s glossary so students can review them on their own. A list of STEAM activities is also included for parents and students to work on together.
Scandrett’s STEAM lessons at school keep in mind that many of his students might not have access to materials and resources. One recent project focused on sustainable building using recyclable elements easily found at home; another built an Olympic-themed course out of cardboard, paper towel tubes, sticks and aluminum foil.
“We used every area of STEAM from gravitational pull and measuring to design,” he said. “It’s a way to show how STEAM is a way of life.”
Information about St. Benedict’s is online at stbs.org.
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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