Mary Ann Binford Elementary School opens STEM Center

S-T-E-M!

A cheerleading squad at Mary Ann Binford Elementary School in Southwest Albuquerque chanted those letters during a Friday morning assembly at the school to get students excited about science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The squad wasn’t just getting students hyped about four subjects they will be studying or could use to launch their future careers — they were celebrating the launch of a STEM Center, made possible through a partnership with the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and ExxonMobil, which donated $65,000 toward the project.

The center was the second for the Albuquerque Public Schools, which saw one installed at Marie M. Hughes Elementary School last year. There are currently seven fully funded STEM Centers in New Mexico thanks to the foundation-corporate partnership.

On Friday, after greeting her students with “Good morning, Bears!” — a reference to the school’s mascot — Principal Stephanie Nieto kicked off the assembly by asking them, “You know about the STEM lab, right?” The students responded with cheers.

Nieto also had another announcement to make: the school was no longer an MRI (More Rigorous Intervention) school by the New Mexico Public Education Department and was once again considered a “traditional school” under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires states to support their lowest-performing schools.

“That means that ... you guys are doing so good at learning reading, math, writing and science,” Nieto told students at the assembly. “So this year, we have to continue the work, yes?”

The students cheered again before thanking their teachers in unison at the request of Nieto.

In an interview following the announcement, Nieto said representatives of ExxonMobil and the foundation approached APS in September 2023 about looking for a school that could support the STEM lab. Mary Ann Binford Elementary already had a STEM class, but it lacked the ability to teach students about technology, she said.

“(The STEM Center) creates so many enrichment opportunities for our students that we didn’t before,” Nieto said. “Before, we were kind of getting by and trying to investigate through scientific methods. But now, kids have ways to explore, investigate and experiment.”

All of the components needed to make a STEM Center came to the school within two weeks.

“It was a lot; it was really exciting, though, and really unexpected,” Nieto said. “We didn’t think we were going to receive as many things as we did.”

Following the assembly, the STEM Center was thriving with activity. Ozobots swarmed a table devoted to teaching robotic coding. Students, with the help of adults, built a Ferris wheel using colorful Kid Spark STEM Labs blocks. Students used insulating play dough from Squishy Circuits to learn the basics of electrical circuiting.

Mariya Bryant, a fifth grader, said she loves STEM. Science excites her the most and she is particularly interested when the school brings insects, from cockroaches to butterflies, into the classroom for study.

Having learned about the STEM Center last week, Bryant said “it’s awesome” to see it in action and she was “really happy to see it when it was finished.”

STEM teacher Barbie Pierson was one of a handful of APS employees wearing a navy-blue STEM Center T-shirt on Friday.

“So often, our students don’t have things like this,” Pierson said. “The excitement and just knowing that they’re going to be able to do things that they may never have been able to just makes my heart so full.”

Pierson and Nieto weren’t the only ones guiding students through activities in the STEM Center — so were representatives from ExxonMobil and the foundation, named after the father of former Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.

Shannon Johnson, vice president of resource development of the foundation, said in an interview that the organization doesn’t just give schools a check for a STEM Center and “walk away.” The foundation developed a curriculum that is aligned with “NM STEM Ready!” standards, she said, and staff members plan to stay in touch with the school.

Johnson, a native New Mexican, said she wants to make sure students have access to inquiry-based learning so they can “start to learn that science is all around them.”

“(Their education is) a cradle to career, so they will always have a lifelong love of learning,” Johnson said.

Scott Buechler, New Mexico production manager for ExxonMobil, told students at the assembly that he got a STEM education, which led him to travel the world working for the oil and gas industry. Buechler also believes STEM is important because he wants to see his children “get those kinds opportunities you’re going to get.”

In an interview, Buechler said he hopes the STEM Center “inspires kids and gives them opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have” to be “the next generation of STEM professionals.”

“Of which we can’t get enough of to meet society’s needs long-term,” Buechler said. “What better place to start than the communities we operate in?”