Rogers Ranch STEM Academy is the first school in Arizona to receive the National Certificate for STEM Excellence.
The Certificate, provided by the National Institute of STEM Education (NISE) recognizes individual school campuses that have integrated STEM best practices and 21st Century learning and professional development. Rogers Ranch STEM Academy has shown a commitment to and growth in both these areas.
“Our mission has always been for Rogers Ranch to reflect on the inside and outside what a school STEM school exemplifies,” explained Rogers Ranch principal Megan Hamburgh who led the school to certification. “This certification reinforces the vision Rogers Ranch teachers and staff have had for our school.”
To receive the certificate, Rogers Ranch completed a three-phase process, comprising 27 indicators, to elevate a culture of STEM teaching and learning across the campus in less than nine months. This included developing a STEM action plan for implementation, embedding STEM strategies into instruction and assessments, and using STEM protocol to guide instructional decisions. Additionally, a team of educators completed the National Certificate for STEM Teaching.
Rogers Ranch was also named an NAU STEM Focus School for the Future in 2022-2023. This program helped Rogers Ranch build the capacity to design and implement effective STEM instruction with the goal of developing a STEM-literate workforce.
“We were able to take the intentional work done through the STEM Focus Schools for the Future process to reflect and refine for this national certification. As a campus we will continue to reflect, grow and refine to be a high achieving academy that reflects what STEM education is,” noted Hamburgh.
