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Fifth-grade hands-on science expands in Rockland with $30,000 STEM grant and local partnerships
Summary
A Rogers Middle School fifth-grade teacher told the committee that recent and ongoing grants — including a $30,000 STEM equipment award and earlier Massachusetts Life Sciences Center support — have funded LEGO Education Science kits, Mass Audubon waterways lessons, Duxbury Beach field experiences and other programs at no cost to families.
Laura Straco, a fifth-grade science teacher at Rockland Middle School, told the Rockland School Committee that several grant-funded programs are bringing hands-on, standards-aligned science learning to fifth graders.
"The programs I'll highlight tonight provide students with hands-on real world learning experiences that are fully aligned with Massachusetts science standards at no cost to the district," Straco said. She said the district received $190,000 in 2021 from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for equipment, supplies and professional development, and that this past summer the district received a $30,000 STEM equipment grant to implement LEGO Education Science in all grade-five and -six science classrooms and in the middle-school STEAM program.
Straco described how LEGO Education Science combines building materials, motors and sensors with digital lessons so students collaborate to design, test and refine models. She said lessons support state standards in engineering design and life sciences while introducing students to possible careers in fields such as biomedical research and public health. "Students are more engaged, more curious, and more willing to take risks in their learning," she said.
She also detailed partnerships that extend learning beyond the classroom. Mass Audubon’s waterways programming offers four in-class sessions aligned to state standards; students build water filters, explore watersheds and learn about invasive species and species conservation. For field work, Straco said grade-five students visit Duxbury Beach (transportation provided) to study barrier beaches, shoreline change and species such as the piping plover. The North and South River Watershed Association funds water‑smart and fish‑school programming, and Bridgewater State University’s Center for the Advancement of STEM Education and a provider called MAD Science supply additional inquiry-based workshops.
Straco credited the Rockland Education Foundation and other local funders for covering transportation and program costs so families are not charged. Committee members and parents responded with praise, noting that the hands-on, place-based experiences make science tangible and reinforce classroom instruction.
The committee did not take any formal action on the presentation; Straco closed by thanking the Rockland Education Foundation, the superintendent's office, RMS administration, grade-five teachers and parent volunteers for their support.
The superintendent’s office indicated these grant-funded programs will continue to be monitored and that staff will report back as the district evaluates impacts on student outcomes.
