Grant helps STEAM Studios program grow at Athens Renaissance School

Dec. 2—ATHENS — Athens students have increasing access to electives ranging from video production and robotics to tailoring and needlework as the Athens Renaissance School, benefiting from a recent grant, ramps up its STEAM Studios program.

The school moved into the old Athens Middle School on South Clinton Street last school year for its students in sixth through 12th grades and currently has five STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) classrooms, or "studios," on the second floor: fine arts, digital communication, robotics and coding, culinary arts and a science lab.

In November, Athens Renaissance School received a $105,000 grant from the Steelcase Foundation to utilize over the next three years.

"We're going to split fine arts into graphic design and fine arts so there will eventually be six (classes)," said Taylor Whisenant, a fifth grade teacher at the school and STEAM Studios specialist. "Another future piece of it will be our Renaissance Retailers. Kids will actually establish a boutique, and the things they make in the studios they can sell in the boutique and learn the financial side of it. So total, we'll end up having seven classes."

Roughly 60 students in grades six through 12 take 90-minute STEAM classes at the school three days a month.

The digital communications studio features a video camera and a green screen where students film commercials about events at their school. The fine arts studio features a sewing machine where students can complete embroidery and upholstery projects.

In the science lab, students have built two small models of water filtration systems. Whisenant said students came up with the idea of building the filtration systems after their field trip to the Athens Water Treatment Plant in Elkmont last month.

Whisenant is also the robotics team specialist and said with STEAM studios, the 15 team members and those interested in robotics have an actual classroom where they can build robots and promote their team, which was formed last year.

"Over the summer we did some (computer) programming workshops up here for parents and students interested in robotics," said Taylor Lynn, a sophomore on the robotics team.

Lynn said learning programming and coding through the STEAM Studios program has given him more insight into the science of robotics.

"It's definitely helped me decide where I want to go, and look at what I'm interested in and not interested in," Lynn said. "I would say I'm more into the design aspect of (robotics) than the building."

Principal Nelson Brown said the STEAM Studios classes are electives that do not provide the students with school credits.

Brown said the concept of the studios began in 2018 when he and other teachers realized students had more interests than just sitting through class lectures all day.

"We just kept having more and more students sign up to take various courses, so it just took off," Brown said.

Brown said what separates Athens Renaissance from Athens High School is a project-based curriculum and the option it provides students of pursuing virtual classes or a blend of both in-person and virtual.

"We have students who are strictly virtual and they're involved in STEAM Studios classes where those are the only classes they are on campus for," Brown said. "We've been brainstorming. As we go deeper into this, we want to cross over to other student groups. Like the culinary group can do a live cooking show and have students in digital communications record it and stream it so we can connect with the public and our virtual students."

— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.