BPS celebrates STEM Learning at Annual Region VI Boston STEM Fair

Boston Public Schools (BPS) celebrated the creativity, innovation, and passion of our students at the 79th annual Region VI STEM Fair!

Students presented projects that spoke to the social and scientific issues currently impacting them and their communities.

BPS celebrates STEM Learning at Annual Region VI Boston STEM Fair

Boston Public Schools (BPS) celebrated the creativity, innovation, and passion of our students at the 79th annual Region VI STEM Fair! The Region VI STEM Fair is a wonderful opportunity for students to develop skills, such as collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, developing and testing hypotheses, and data analysis, which all play an important role in our students’ overall success.

STEM is all around us in nearly every aspect of our lives. The City of Boston is home to pioneers in the fields of robotics, biotech, and medicine. Our young people should be immersed in all that our great city has to offer and the Region VI Boston STEM Fair allows our students to express their creativity and learning of key science concepts outside of the classroom.

Students presented projects that spoke to the social and scientific issues currently impacting them and their communities. Among the projects were Planetary Lunar Landing Devices, Wastewater Treatment, Color Choice & Identity, Fire Alarm Safety, Academic Stress & Mindfulness in Seniors, Light Pollution in East Boston, and Cuffless Blood Pressure Devices.

This year, the STEM Fair included:

190 Student Participants
12 Participating Schools
118 Projects submitted for Judging

BPS is grateful to all of our STEM educators who are working every day to foster critical STEM skills in our students and inspire them to apply those learned skills to classroom work and to real-world situations. The STEM Department is committed to continuing to provide programming opportunities for our K-12 students and families throughout the district.

The Region VI Boston STEM Fair Awards Ceremony took place on March 11 at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. The ceremony featured musical performances from students at the O’Bryant School of Math & Science along with a Presentation of Colors by the Community Academy of Science and Health (CASH) JROTC program.

Matolah Dankoff, a Grade 7 Student at Boston Latin School won the Christa McAuliffe Grand Prize for the Junior Division & Cabot Corporation Grand Prize for her project: An Introduction to Hand-Eye Coordination.

Shuting Zhu and Louis Chiu, Juniors at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science won the Christa McAuliffe Grand Prize for the Senior Division, and Sanofi Specialty Care Grand Prize for their project: Cuffless Blood Pressure Measurement Monitor via Pulse Transit Time Analysis and Arduino. They will now represent BPS as the Nominees for the Massachusetts State Delegation for the International Science and Engineering Fair in Columbus Ohio in May.
BPS will also have 23 Middle School projects that will move on to compete at the Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair in May at Clark University, and 14 High School projects will move on to the Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair at Gillette Stadium in April.
The Boston STEM Fair team is grateful to the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center for hosting the 79th Region VI STEM Fair, to the Madison Park Community for hosting the STEM Fair Awards Ceremony, and to the Madison Park Culinary Arts and Hospitality programs, which helped to cater and set up the ceremony.

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) | Federal Special Education Entitlement Grant

The purpose of this federal entitlement grant program is to provide funds to ensure that eligible students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education that includes special education and related services designed to meet their individual needs.

The priorities of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - 2004 (IDEA-2004) are to:

ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free and appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living;
ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected;
assist states, localities, educational service agencies, and federal agencies to provide for the education of all children with disabilities; and
assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to education children with disabilities.
(34 CFR § 300.1; authority: 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d).)

Funds available are intended to serve eligible students with special education services and activities deemed essential for students' success in school. Services and activities supported by this grant for students ages 3 through 21 must ensure compliance with state special education laws and regulations and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - 2004 (IDEA-2004).

For more information, please see publications and resources from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s publications and the Department of Education.

Special Education at the Boston Public Schools

Please visit the Office of Special Education and Student Services webpage for more information.

One in five BPS students has a disability. To help every child succeed, our Office of Special Education and Student Services focuses on academic outcomes, aspirations for our students and regulatory compliance. Today, we are providing our students with more stability and continuity, new opportunities for inclusion and higher-quality programs that are aligned with district efforts to help all our students reach a high standard.

Federal law guarantees every student the right to a free and appropriate public education regardless of handicap or disability. State law (CMR 28) further guarantees the right to an education in the “least restrictive environment.” That means in typical classroom settings with students without disabilities.

Every Boston public school offers Resource/Learning Center services. These programs provide specialized instruction for up to 10 students in an instructional period.
Many Boston public schools offer services in a substantially separate setting. These programs provide specialized instruction to between 8 and 12 students in an instructional setting.
A number of Boston Public Schools offer services to students with significant disabilities. These programs range in enrollment from 6 to 10 students.
Three special schools serve students with disabilities: the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Carter Development Center for students with significant cognitive delays, and the McKinley Schools for students with severe emotional and behavioral disabilities.

If you believe that your child is having difficulty making progress in a regular classroom due to a disability, you have the right to an evaluation of your child to find out if he or she has a disability and is eligible for special education services. Ask the principal/headmaster or Evaluation Team Facilitator (ETF) for this evaluation.

Special Education Quick Links

Office of Special Education and Student Services Website

MA DESE Parent's Notice of Procedural Safeguards

MA DESE Information on Special Education

US Department of Education IDEA Website

Feedback

Tell us how we are doing! We welcome all feedback, comments and questions.

IDEA Fast Facts

Funder: Federal grant passed through the State
FY19 Award Amount: $17,552,190
Time Period: 1 year
Number of Students Served: 11,000
Schools Served: districtwide
Program Manager: Porsche Paulding