STEAM-Based Learning Helps Drive Inquiry and Innovation

Since 2015, Dr. Helen K. Foster has served as the Superintendent of Schools for Coalinga-Huron Unified School District in California’s Fresno County. She started her work in education more than two decades ago as a chemistry, physics, and physical science teacher in San Lorenzo, California. Over the course of her career, Dr. Helen K. Foster has been a proponent of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education. 

Designed to enhance traditional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs, STEAM education also promotes inquiry, creation, and innovation by integrating art practices, elements, and standards to help students build the skills they need to come up with creative solutions to challenging problems. 

In California, the growth of STEAM has been fostered through several programs and events, including the annual California STEAM Symposium. Entering its sixth year, the symposium is hosted by the California Department of Education in partnership with local nonprofit groups. 

In 2017, more than 3,000 educators took part in the event, which was held December 10-11 in San Francisco. The 2018 California STEAM Symposium will take place October 28-29 in Long Beach.

ACSA Talks New Inclusive Social Science Curriculum

Since 2015, Helen K. Foster, EdD, has served as the Superintendent of Coalinga-Huron Unified School District in Coalinga, California. Active in her field beyond her everyday work with the district, Dr. Helen K. Foster maintains membership in the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

ACSA reported last November that the California State Board of Education approved new classroom materials for K-8 students that focus on the unique role that the state has played in the nation’s history and social progress. The new materials aim to provide students with a more inclusive and historically accurate picture of California - as well as the United States - and to put that history in context using the latest research and information to better enable them to think independently about controversial issues. 

Some of the topics the curriculum will seek to address are civic engagement, the current and historical challenges faced by the LGBT community, and California’s history as a haven for people of all backgrounds and cultures.