Dr. Tony Robinson: Real-world changes in education at Sikeston R-6

Though this year has looked, felt, and operated completely different from years past, we were not interested in lowering expectations or standards. We did not want to put providing students with new programs and learning opportunities and experiences on hold. Just because we had to provide a safe learning environment didn’t stop us from pushing our students and staff to new levels of innovation.

Sikeston R-6 routinely updates curriculum throughout the district to ensure our students are learning the newest material possible. Our science curriculum was next on our list to update, and with the success of our Project Lead the Way (PLTW) programs at the Sikeston Career and Technical Center, we felt it would be a great time to shift our science curriculum in a new direction and into the 21st century. PLTW provides a transformative learning experience and creates engaging, challenging and rigorous classroom lessons. Now our entire school district Pre-K through 12th is studying the PLTW curriculum in science. Our students aren’t merely learning how robots work. They are learning how to build those robots and the function of each part that is required to work a robot.

For several years, we offered the Engineering PLTW course at SCTC, but this year we expanded our offerings to include Computer Science and Biomedical Science. At a time when computer science affects how we work and live, PLTW Computer Science empowers students in grades 9-12 to become creators, instead of merely consumers, of the technology all around them. PLTW Biomedical Science students are taking on real-world challenges – and they’re doing it before they even graduate from high school. Working with the same tools used by professionals in hospitals and labs, students engage in compelling, hands-on activities and work together to find solutions to problems.

Another way we are using real-world problem solving is in a class called Principles of Entrepreneurship, which uses the Youth Entrepreneurs (YE) curriculum. This is not just a business class. YE’s educational model bridges the gap between textbook learning and practical application. It empowers teachers to innovate in their classroom and prepare students for success in the workplace and in life.

YE includes curriculum models such as Design Thinking, Marketing, Social Media, and many more real life work experiences. The students are currently working on social media plans. The Sikeston Bootheel Jaycees have offered a $500-scholarship for promotion of their annual Crawfish Boil, so the instructor has made it a competition with the winner applying for the scholarship and ultimately using their ideas beyond the classroom.

In a totally different area of focus, but no less important, our Human Resources department has updated our hiring process and procedures. While interviewing for administrative positions last Summer, we included parent/student groups in the process. While these groups don’t necessarily choose the person to be hired, they provide much needed alternative mindsets and feedback for our hiring team. The information they provide to us after the interviews then help us to narrow down our search and help us focus on different aspects that the district might not focus on during hiring. This group has been a valuable resource through several more interviews, such as the recent football and softball coach hirings. We plan to continue this process to provide valuable insight into the staff we hire.

Sikeston R-6 will continue to provide our students and staff with new ways to push themselves and to think outside the box. In 2021, learning is not just about reading a book. It’s about using tangible items to focus on and determine why things are the way they are. When you can see the deeper meaning behind things, it only helps to provide a stronger connection to how this world works, how we function in it, and how our students and staff have the ability to make real changes in it.

Dr. Tony Robinson is the superintendent of the Sikeston R-6 School District.