Fernan receives official STEM recognition

It's official — Fernan STEM Academy is STEM certified.

The labor-of-love undertaking 10 years in the making began to take shape in November during a site visit from Cognia, a global nonprofit that offers accreditation and certification, assessment, professional learning and improvement services. Fernan teachers and administrators submitted over 100 pages of best-practice evidence to the organization, with which they had been working for several years on the journey to STEM certification.

Cognia gave Fernan the stamp of approval, which was also approved by the State Board of Education in February and finally the Idaho Legislature in March.

“They approved a list of five new STEM-certified schools in Idaho, and we were one of those," Fernan Principal Kathy Livingston said Tuesday, beaming a smile. "We’re on their little map."

A decade ago, Fernan Elementary, at 520 N. 21st St. in downtown Coeur d'Alene was in need of transformation. Enrollment was feeling the effects of private, charter and magnet schools in the area.

"The magnet schools were changing the dynamics," second grade teacher Melody Lund said. "That drastically impacted us."

Some thought a magnet designation would be a step forward for Fernan, but with a 70% poverty rate and many transient students at the time, the majority of Fernan's students would have been excluded through the application process.

Thinking outside the box, as Fernan Falcons are known to do, conversations of having the school focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) began to generate.

“One of the things we thought was STEM could do the most good for our neighborhood kids," fourth grade teacher Heather Mangini said. "It was one of the more rigorous ideas.”

Through community outreach and gauging the interest of parents and stakeholders, Fernan leaders found STEM was the favored path.

“That was a passionate decision from the teachers because we cared so greatly about these kids who were transient or had more struggles than other places may have,” Lund said. "We weren’t willing to give them up just so we could increase our enrollment. That hands-on STEM really helped that group of kiddos learn better, they had more engagement, more excitement to be at school. It changed the whole mood of the teachers as well, as we all started becoming different teachers as we learned more about it.”

In 2015, the school alighted upon a new moniker — Fernan STEM Academy — and STEM soon became embedded in the school's DNA.

"At the beginning we were changing how we were teaching,” Lund said. “As time has gone on, we’ve learned. We facilitate the learning and the kids teach us, which is changing how we do things, and that changes everything for the kids.”

Strong leadership teams, generous higher education consultants and students excited to embark on scientific quests for knowledge helped Fernan take flight.

“I feel like what this process did for us is that it unified us and empowered teachers,” Livingston said. "We did it for the kids."

The Cognia designation has earned Fernan up to $10,000 per year for six years from the Idaho STEM Action Center, with up to $5,000 a year for the following six years upon recertification. This is a boon for teachers whose young scientists and engineers have insatiable curiosity about the world around them.

Fernan will have a health and safety STEM night May 18 for families and students to enjoy.

Monday at 10:10 a.m., the Idaho STEM Action Center will visit Fernan for a designation and recognition ceremony.

“I would like to invite our community partners and anybody who helped be a part of that,” Livingston said. “We had several parents who were personally interviewed. I’d like to personally invite all those people who were a big part of us reaching our goal.”