Local teacher receives Full STEAM Ahead! grant for a RealCare baby from INK!

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Feb. 8, 2023 - PRLog -- AT&T, through the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEF) and administered through Investing in Kids (INK!), recently helped fund a local teacher with a grant to start "Project Parenting', a hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) enrichment project to increase student understanding through experiential learning. Regan Ashker, the grant recipient, teaches three sections of English 2 Honors and three different levels of classes in the Creekside High School Teaching Academy in St. Augustine, Fla. along with serving as an advisor for Florida Future Educators of America.

Funding includes a RealCare baby infant simulator which helps with instruction and practice in parenting skills and learning lifespan development at the school's Future Teachers Academy. "We currently have two RealCare infant simulators for 106 academy students to share. Our program has doubled in size in the last year. The grant helps to add another RealCare simulator and help more students gain valuable hands-on experience," said Ashker.

Another goal of "Project Parenting" is for students to improve their technological skills. By using various online platforms to showcase their RealCare infant simulator experiences, graphic design, research skills, and creating a Canva infographic will help to demonstrate learning through simulation. Collaboration with classmates is also included to design a video tutorial where each student shares a valuable piece of advice about the "Project Parenting" process.

Additional milestones include Ashker and student recognition from Creekside Future Teachers Academy's affiliation with an extracurricular organization, Florida Future Educators of America (FFEA). Ashker and Creekside students recently participated in an annual state conference in Orlando where 550 students from throughout Florida and 50 statewide school chapters were represented. The theme of this year's conference was Wild About Teaching. Ashker's high school group placed first in a video production called, Inside Our Schools, and one of her junior class students was elected to be the new FFEA state president. Local Academy students also received an educational research competition award for their PowerPoint presentation about how educators use data to meet the needs of all students, and an award in lesson planning. "I am so proud of our award-winning student leaders. They are our future teachers in the making and I believe this is a sign of hope for our educational system," said Ashker. For more information, contact Donna Lueders at Donna.Lueders@stjohns.k12.fl.us or 904-547-7120. Visit the website at www.ink-stjohns.org.