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Students demonstrate VR and stop‑motion projects as district outlines micro‑internships and workforce Wednesdays
Summary
Middle‑school STEM students demonstrated VR headsets and stop‑motion animation projects; administrators described plans to expand quarterly traveling STEM labs, extend Workforce Wednesdays in January, and pilot 10‑hour micro‑internships for high‑school students.
Teachers and students showcased new STEM activities and classroom technology during the Columbia CUSD 4 board meeting.
Mrs. Miller delivered the building report and highlighted student recognitions, a recent field trip to public‑safety agencies and a new Apex fundraiser that she said raised roughly $19,700 in nine days. She described the district’s quarterly visiting STEM lab for grades five through eight and demonstrated VR headsets used across the middle school—showing teachers how to fit the headsets, use controls and sanitize units in a UV box between uses.
Two students from the seventh‑hour STEM class, Parker Meyer and Max Khan, presented a stop‑motion animation lesson, describing frame rate, use of whiteboards for frames and classroom applications in English language arts, including short projects based on Edgar Allan Poe stories. Students and staff recommended a mix of free and paid cloud stop‑motion tools to allow saving and advanced features.
In her report, the assistant superintendent described recent administrative collaboration at a conference and summarized staff professional development during an October institute day. She said the district plans to expand "Workforce Wednesdays" in January—doubling time to 40 minutes to include lunch and to invite both smaller and larger industries—and proposed embedding 10‑hour micro‑internships at each high‑school grade level so students can sample pathways progressively.
School staff said they are labeling headsets and tracking inventory to make classroom deployment easier and will continue training teachers to integrate the technology across content areas. Administration said micro‑internships would be unpaid with liability insurance provided by the district and that further credit‑granting conversations with high‑school administrators are ongoing.
The district also noted continuing partnership conversations with the Career Center of Southern Illinois (CCSI); administration will attend CCSI’s Nov. 5 board meeting to explore possible relocation and program opportunities.
The board did not take a separate vote on the STEM programming items; they were presented as part of informational reports.
