Maddox Intermediate School Welcomes New STEM SmartLab

Words by Anna Vaughn | Images by Al Blanton

On November 7, Maddox Intermediate School held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new SmartLab. SmartLab is a project-based learning program designed by Creative Learning Systems, a developer for digital media programs based out of Longmont, Colorado.

According to Maddox Intermediate principal Marc Sargent, implementing SmartLab curriculum has been in the works for around six years. According to Sargent, Randy Wilkes of Phenix City Schools was the first to introduce him to the program after Sargent received initial encouragement from Jasper City Schools Superintendent Ann Jackson to consider the program.

“After visiting Mr. Wilkes school and seeing the SmartLab for the first time, the decision was really a no-brainer. I knew we needed this in our schools,” says Sargent.

Sargent then set out to acquire funding for the program, and the Walker Area Community Foundation (WACF) stepped up to the plate with funding from a private donor. Sargent says he is very appreciative of the organization’s generous donation.

The new SmartLab is facilitated by STEMLAB teacher Patrick Hannah and is located in a downstairs classroom that has been used for several special programs in past years. Students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade can participate in SmartLab’s project-based learning. Each grade is on a rotating schedule, and students spend thirty minutes per day in the SmartLab for a two-week period (a total of five hours spent on each project). Students can then present these projects to their homeroom teacher.

Using multiple digital media programs, students also gain experience in fields such as engineering, robotics, coding and programming, 3D printing, gaming developing, and digital comics and art. By completing these projects, students learn problem-solving and complex task-management, and are enriched and educated in each of the STEM areas.

“This is new to us, and we have a lot to learn. But we are one of the first, if not the first, in this area to provide a SmartLab for our school,” says Sargent.

Maddox Intermediate is excited about this new addition and looking forward to the benefits it will provide for its students, and, in turn, the local community. 78