HIDOE News Release: Hickam Elementary dedicates new Media Center and Makerspace facilities to boost STEM achievement
Posted on Nov 27, 2019 in Latest Department NewsB-roll and photos available here.
HONOLULU – Lt. Col. Horace Meek Hickam Elementary dedicated a new facility today dedicated to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in a ceremony with excited students, parents and staff. The new two-story building houses a media center, makerspaces, student support services and the administration office, and is designed to give students state-of-the-art learning resources and space to accomplish immersive STEM projects including Virtual Reality (VR) and robotics.
“With the new space, we are able to implement learning that empowers leadership and cultivates college- and career-readiness,” said Principal Alisa Bender. “The pace of change in our world has increased demands for STEM skills, and we want to ensure students have complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and cognitive flexibility to be leaders for tomorrow.”
Hickam Elementary was recently named a 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the US Department of Education in September 2019. It has met the performance award criteria for Exemplary High Performing schools and is ranked in the top 15 percent of Hawaiʻi schools in achievement in English and math. Hickam’s performance has outpaced other school performance averages statewide in English Language Arts (ELA, 18 percent higher), Math (18 percent higher) and Science (19 percent higher) in School Year 2018-19. Hickam’s current student body of 566 students consists of 99-percent military-dependent students and is highly transient due to frequent military personnel movements.
Derek Inoshita
Communications Specialist
Hawaii State Department of Education
Office: (808) 586-3232
E-mail: [email protected]
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