The theory of action for STEAMing Ahead for Success emphasizes that engagement by education, industry, government, family, and community is crucial for achieving results. The focus of SAS is on the building of shared collective goals to connect and create dynamic partnerships and coalitions to support our youth, their families and our community.STEAMing Ahead for Success embraces, respects and engages with other organizations (clubs, nonprofits, organizations, local and state government, businesses) and seeks to understand their services and passions as we consider how we can leverage our resources to support community efforts.STEAMing Ahead for Success is guided by a 7-member Board of Directors and a SAS Design Team that includes members representing education, family, students, university, community, business, and industry. We will continuously seek feedback on the SAS program design and strive to offer a coherent, comprehensive, umbrella approach to addressing the needs of the diverse groups within the community.

STEAMing Ahead for Success (SAS) Mentor Experiences will bring together students, teachers, university educators, and industry professionals (currently working and retired) in an exploration of the possibilities for college and career in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics fields in the new workforce landscape of the 21st century. Mentoring will focus on four main areas:

• 1. Experiences that open up the door to possibilities for students’ college & career;
• 2. Building of relationships among students, teachers and mentors through the use of an online STEAM Mentoring Portal;
• 3. Project-centered learning with opportunities to meet face to face with students,teachers and mentors from other districts, states, and universities;
• 4. The professional and personal growth of the mentors as well as the teacher and student protégés.

An important component of STEAMing Ahead for Success are STEAM Maker Spaces and the STEAM Multi Media Centers. These facilities will focus on providing access to real-world Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics experiences for students in order to provide a foundation for future learning and careers.

Fully equipped digital fabrication facilities (STEAM Maker Spaces) will offer interactive environments for teacher training, mentoring, hands-on student activities, partnerships and internships with industry and business professionals, and welcoming environments for families to engage in STEAM-related learning for their children.

STEAM Multi-Media Centers will create opportunities for students to experience audio-engineering, graphic design, website design, video production and other sources of multi-media to prepare for careers in business, marketing, broadcasting, and communications. The STEAM Multi-Media Centers will include instruction on business practices as well as entrepreneurial learning within the STEM programs.

The STEAMing Ahead for Success state-of-the-art facilities will help stakeholders in building students’ 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking needed for the sustainability of New Mexico communities. Activities will center around client-based projects, creating opportunities for the students to address communities’ needs, support their communities and to teach others.

STEAMing Ahead for Success will partner with local school districts and universities to offer high school students mentoring experiences, internships, summer work experiences, tutoring, and coaching on the college application process including standardized test preparation.. University faculty can serve as STEAM Mentors to both students and teachers.

STEAMing Ahead for Success is also collaborating with a university for the development of a STEAM discovery center within the university’s early childhood center. Program benefits include opportunities for preschool students to engage in hands-on discovery learning and the utilization of the STEAM discovery center for early childhood teacher and provider pre-service training.

Partnerships between industry and Pre-K-12 education necessitates banding together to fully understand one another and finding the intersection for the work each does in education innovation. This includes opportunities for industry and business professionals to meet with educators and learn from each other about students’ needs.

Specific SAS work will be focused on the following key areas by bringing together and coordinating efforts with industry and business professionals, educators, students, parents, university, local and state governments, and community entities to support Southwestern NM rural education.

• Why is there is a worker skills gap (hard skills)?
• What can be done to enhance the 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity (soft skills)?
• What are the resources at the local, regional, state and national levels? People to People? People to Programs?
• What are possible effective means for academic/industry collaboration in the community?
• What is the value and return on investment of specific actions to the local community?

It will be through multi-organization collaboration, that students/workers skilled in STEAM-related fields will be able to find professional success and generate a sustainable income throughout their careers.

Educators are a valuable resource within the communities for increasing students’ awareness of the possibilities in STEAM-related careers and in providing learning opportunities for students to practice the 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. SAS will support teachers in creating opportunities for inquiry, project based, real-world science learning focused on standards and integration of concepts throughout the school day. This requires sufficient support for teachers, principals, instructional coaches to understand what successful STEAM teaching and learning looks like.

Educators will be offered the opportunity to participate in a two-phase comprehensive professional development program in STEAM education. The first phase, designed collaboratively with school districts, will focus on a strategic planning framework for STEAM education initiatives. This phase will be key to collaboratively developing common purpose in STEAM education; examining research on STEAM education models and their effectiveness; setting goals; designing a logic model with short, middle and long-term outcomes; and the development of an action and sustainability plan for incorporating STEAM skills throughout the curriculum.

Depending on a district’s needs after Phase One of the professional development, the second phase could include leadership training, instructional coaching, and mentoring with a focus on strategic leadership, managing change, and using successful strategies to support teaching staff during implementation of the identified STEAM initiatives. Phase Two will also allow for teacher teams to work together on the implementation of STEAM curriculum and on integrating instructional practices across the curriculum to impact student achievement. Teacher will develop highly engaging STEAM instructional lessons by emphasizing project-based learning, inquiry, design thinking, and the 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. SAS will support teachers in creating opportunities for inquiry, project based, real-world science learning focused on standards and integration of concepts throughout the school day. This requires sufficient support for teachers, principals, instructional coaches to understand what successful STEAM teaching and learning looks like.

In addition to the professional development program, teachers will be offered an opportunity to participate in STEAM Mentoring Experiences. Mentors from business, industry and university will work with educators to collaboratively explore the STEAM skills necessary for students to realize their potential and experience success in the new jobs of the 21st century. After their mentoring experience, the teacher may choose to continue as a mentor to a student. Mentor training is provided by SAS and focuses on the four roles of a mentor: Teacher, Advisor, Coach, and Feedback Provider.

STEAMing Ahead for Success works to provide real-world, hands-on learning opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) for New Mexico students by enhancing partnerships with home, school, community and industry. A systemic approach that includes all stakeholder groups will contribute positively to student outcomes.

Students are at the center of the wheel and all work radiates from the hub to the spokes representing each stakeholder group. Decision-making by STEAMing Ahead for Success staff will always consider what is best for students. We hold high expectations for students and want them to have BIG DREAMS, become lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and good citizens in the community, state, nation and the world.