BISD launches middle school STEM initiative
The Brownsville Independent School District is launching a STEM Infinity Project magnet program for middle schools to help students get an early start on careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
By GARY LONG The Brownsville Herald
The Brownsville Independent School District’s is launching a STEM magnet program for middle schools to help students get an early start on careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
The district’s 11 middle school principals presented the curriculum at Tuesday night’s BISD Board of Trustees meeting, drawing congratulatory comments from board members.
The STEM Infinity Project Magnet begins with next year’s sixth-graders. The deadline to apply for admission to the program is April 27. Applications are available from fifth-grade counselors throughout the district as well as at each middle school.
Although the Infinity Project’s launch is coincidental to last week’s announcement by SpaceX that it is considering Brownsville for a commercial space launch site, the timing would seem to be perfect.
“We’re excited about the spillout effect,” Oliveira Middle School Principal Jennifer Gonzales said after outlining the program to trustees. “The flow of the curriculum is to rocketry. It’s an amazing opportunity. ... They’re going to have exciting jobs to shoot for.” . . .
Gonzales said the program is based on Infinity Project curriculum developed at Southern Methodist University, and that the level of difficulty, or rigor, is exactly what is needed to succeed at the upcoming STAARS assessment tests and in life.