Alabama state superintendent calls Phenix City's budding STEM center 'unmatched'

Alabama state superintendent calls Phenix City's budding STEM center one-of-a-kind

The tour of the construction site for the $2.1 million Dyer Family STEM Center had just finished Tuesday at Phenix City Intermediate School, and the leader of Alabama's public schools gushed his approval without being asked.

"I'm telling you," State Superintendent Tommy Bice told the entourage of about two dozen, "there's not another one of these -- anywhere, literally."

Phenix City Superintendent Randy Wilkes cracked up the crowd when he modestly responded, "Well, we thought it was a pretty good idea."

The idea is scheduled to become reality in August, when the 9,500-square-foot STEM center opens and provides a hands-on way to teach science, technology, engineering and math. The facility is the centerpiece of the school system's focus on improved instruction, dubbed the i3 Initiative, which emphasizes inquiry, innovation and impact.

In six months, the Friends of Phenix City Schools has raised $735,000 toward its goal of $1.1 million to help pay for the STEM center at PCIS and a $3.1 million expansion facility at Central High School. The i3 Initiative also includes the $750,000 the school system spent this year to equip each of the approximately 1,500 students and 100 teachers at PCIS (grades 6-7) and South Girard School (grade 8) with an iPad Air. The plan is to add grades 9-12 to the 1:1 electronic device program next school year.

Bice's stop in Phenix City is part of his "Celebrate Innovation!" tour of Alabama's public school districts. Out of 137 systems in the state, Bice is expected to visit approximately 25 during this tour. Phenix City was his eighth, following visits to Talladega County, Sylacauga City, Ft. Payne City, Scottsboro City, Boaz City, Pell City and Trussville City.

Bice paused from taking photos with his smartphone and told the Ledger-Enquirer in an interview that Phenix City's STEM center project is "embracing the future and giving these kids an opportunity to experience it while they're in intermediate school. That's just unbelievable. So they'll understand STEM education, what the careers are for the future. This is just remarkable."

The state superintendent also praised the project's partnership funding model, combining school district money with donations from local organizations and individuals -- without needing a state allocation.

"They've all come together to create this," Bice said. "The school system could have never done this on their own. The learning opportunities it will give kids here in Phenix City, this is unmatched."

In fact, Gil Dyer, whose family donated the $150,000 for the STEM center's naming rights, told Bice he has heard folks across the Chattahoochee River in his native Columbus say they would like their children to attend Phenix City schools now that this i3 Initiative is being implemented.

Dyer said, "I'm in my 60s, and I've never heard that in my lifetime: people in Columbus wishing they had something that the Phenix City School System has."

Columbus and Phenix City were mill towns when Dyer grew up, he said, and despite the influx and development of some high-tech companies in the Bi-Cities, not enough children see enough of those possible careers. And that's the reason for his family's gift to the STEM center.

"These kids can't go into anything they're not exposed to," Dyer said, "and this is going to plant some seeds."

Just ask sixth-grader Haley McDonald, who aspires to be a nurse. She was among the PCIS students who explained the compelling components of the STEM center.

"I think it will attract more students to come to PCIS," she said during the tour. "It will help kids get better scholarships and better jobs."

After she returned her hardhat, Haley said she was honored to help host such a prestigious gathering.

"I was nervous," she said, "but it was fun, too."

Haley took one more gaze across the muddy construction site before she headed back to class. She expressed her anticipation of learning next school year in a state-of-the-art building.

"I can pretty much already see students working inside the labs," she said.

The PCIS students who along with Haley described those labs for the visitors were Dailyna Hall, Savelly Perez, Calynn Gertz, Mikayla Carter and Jade Paul.

The STEM center will feature eight labs, which are named for sponsors who donated $25,000:

The Cable TV of East Alabama Interactive Atrium will contain anatomy, health and weather exhibits.

The Phenix City Education Foundation Chattahoochee River System Lab will combine the elements of an aquarium and a terrarium to produce a habitat where plants, animals and microorganisms interact in ecological balance. It will feature a freshwater tank along the back wall.

The Phenix City Education Foundation Saltwater Aquarium will teach students about fish anatomy, the food chain, the water cycle and the nitrogen cycle. It will feature three tanks exhibiting various species native to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Dr. Stephen Cooper Imaginarium will include exhibits from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Smithsonian Institution. Students will virtually explore the world and the universe through the Magic Planet, a 4-foot digital video globe.

The Aflac Digital Media Lab will allow students to use print, text, audio, video and the Internet to communicate with multiple audiences.

The CB&T of East Alabama and Synovus Engineering Lab will be completely Web-based and equip students to design, simulate and analyze structures such as rockets and prosthetics.

The TSYS Coding Lab will show students how to make objects and recordings to develop interactive projects.

The WestRock Virtual Science Lab will enable students to perform more than 270 kinds of dissections without harming or touching humans or animals.

"This is 3-D science, where you (virtually) take a human heart outside of the body," Wilkes told the group. "You pick it up on a stylus. You look at it with Google-type glasses. You click on the stylus. It opens up the heart. You can feel the heart beating. It will label each and every part of the heart. You click on the stylus, and it becomes a camera. You go inside the circulatory system and tour the human body."

Bice shook his head in amazement and exclaimed, "Good gracious!"

Wilkes told the L-E after the tour, "Dr. Bice's visit today was affirmation of the vision and the direction of Phenix City Schools. Dr. Bice is in full support of our efforts to transform the educational culture of our system. Through STEM focused education, we will provide our students with necessary skills needed for success in post-secondary education and 21st century careers."

Wrapping up his visit at Central High School, the state superintendent noted Phenix City isn’t waiting for the STEM center to be built to deliver the quality instruction that will be worthy of it.

Bice lauded Wilkes and his administration for their leadership. He said he hasn’t seen any school system in Alabama that invests in its people like Phenix City for the professional development to utilize excellent facilities and equipment in excellent ways, changing the old model of teacher lecturing to the new model of teacher facilitating the students’ learning.

“Based on what I’ve seen today, you’ve not only made the shift, you’ve implemented it,” Bice said. “Every child could tell me why they were doing what they were doing, which is the true measure of a school meeting the needs of their students.”

So here’s the message about innovative education he is taking back to Montgomery to share with the rest of the state, Bice said: “If you want to see what it looks like in reality, you come to Phenix City.”

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter

HOW TO DONATE

To help the Friends of Phenix City Schools reach its $1.1 million goal, contact Lara Beth Johns, the school system's public information manager, at 334-298-0534 or lbjohns@pcboe.net.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Alabama state superintendent calls Phenix City's budding STEM center 'unmatched' ."