Students Supporting Students to Grow in STEM: Our GPS Chief Science Officers Lead the Way

Earlier this school year, 58 students from 18 different GPS schools represented the largest single-district delegation of Chief Science Officers (CSOs) in the United States at a meeting for the Leadership Training Institute (LTI). These 6th through 12th graders gathered for one mission: to move beyond being just students of science and become advocates for it. 

After months of planning, collaborating with industry professionals, and setting goals, all 18 participating schools are seeing their visions come to life. Here are just a few examples of the impact CSOs are having on their campuses.

Gilbert Classical Academy: STEM Fair Event 
At Gilbert Classical Academy, 12th-grade CSOs recognized that older students often lose touch with their STEM passions amidst the pressure of rigorous coursework and testing. To combat this, the seniors created, planned, and held a mini-STEM fair in the school’s Cybrary on April 16. 

Rather than focusing on basic STEM concepts, they collaborated with district Technology Integration Educators (TIEs) to provide hands-on access to advanced equipment, including Sphero Bolts (programmable robotic balls), Micro:bits (pocket-sized computers used for coding), and tele-drones. These tools allowed students to explore sophisticated areas within the broad field of engineering, such as aerodynamics and light-based programming. 

Highland Park Elementary: Coding Mentorship Program
At Highland Park Elementary, the CSO’s action plan focuses on pipeline development, where older students mentor younger ones to create a continuous path of interest in STEM. The sixth-grade team took their idea and turned it into a coding mentorship program. The CSOs visit kindergarten through third-grade classrooms with Botley robots, which are designed to teach the fundamentals of coding without the need for a screen. They challenge the younger students to build physical mazes and then write code to navigate the robots through them. While the younger students learn the basics of logic and sequence, the CSOs have experienced a significant boost in their own self-confidence. 

One student reflected on the surprise of discovering their own potential, saying, “Something that I learned about myself is how good I am at speaking in front of a really big crowd... I never really knew that I could talk that well in front of that many people.”

Canyon Rim Elementary: Student-Led Classrooms
CSOs at Canyon Rim Elementary have stepped into the role of guest teachers for the school’s younger grades. These student leaders take on the responsibility of developing and delivering full science lessons to K-2 classes, covering topics like the relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. Rather than just reading from a book, the CSOs created interactive ways to explain these celestial rotations.

Katie Gifford, a 5th grade teacher at Canyon Rim and the CSO's advisor, noted that the students took complete initiative, creating their own lesson plans and supplementary "filler" activities to keep the younger students engaged with very little adult assistance. This experience gave the CSOs a newfound perspective and appreciation for their teachers, with one student saying, “It’s really important for us to get an education, and our teachers are working hard to prepare lessons and teach kids. So, they're doing a good job.” 

Quartz Hill Elementary: Student-Run Robotics Club
At Quartz Hill Elementary, the CSO team recognized that the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) school needed a consistent home for robotics on campus. Their Action Plan focused on establishing a student-run Robotics Club. 

Understanding that different age groups have different learning needs, they structured the club as a quarterly program that rotates through the student body. This allowed them to provide age-appropriate instruction to a second and third-grade cohort before moving on to more complex engineering challenges with a fourth through sixth-grade group. By acting as the primary instructors, the CSOs provided a space for their peers to dive deep into technology and mechanical design. 

The team found that creating a formal club allowed them to build a community of like-minded students, noting that they have received "plenty of students that really liked it" and a high volume of positive feedback from participants who are now eager to pursue robotics in junior high.

Oak Tree Elementary: Engineering After School Program
Oak Tree’s CSO team has turned its leaders into campus celebrities by fostering a deep connection with younger students through an after-school program. The CSOs help run Junior Engineers on Thursdays, where second and third-graders tackle weekly challenges like building catapults and basketball hoops to learn about motion and structural integrity. The CSOs even created rubrics to help younger students evaluate the success of their builds. 

These action plans are just some examples of the incredible work being done by Chief Science Officers across Gilbert Public Schools. From STEM fairs to after-school clubs and even guest teachers, these Action Plans demonstrate that students can advocate for and spread a passion for STEM learning in their communities. To learn more about academics across Gilbert Public Schools, visit GilbertSchools.net/Teacher-Learning.