When I think back to my days in elementary school, I remember walking to class with my older brother on a crisp autumn morning, or bundling up on a bitter cold January day. Our home was too close to the school to have busing privileges so making the trek on foot was our only option. Once inside the I-shaped building, I sat in an uncomfortable wooden desk watching the hours tick by as the same teacher taught every subject over the course of the day. I don’t recall having much team interaction back then, it was ‘every man for himself’. I also don’t recall the teacher linking the subjects to meaningful jobs or careers, or making the material very interesting for that matter. When the final bell rang, I met up with my brother and raced home, only to start the same mundane routine over again the next morning.
Today, teachers know the importance of teamwork. Preparing our youth to interact with others at an early age will enhance their interpersonal skills - skills essential for success in the workplace. They also realize that engaging students requires hands-on interaction about something interesting and fun. But is there a way to create team collaboration, get everyone to participate, and teach some critical Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects all at the same time?
Teachers have creative ideas to get every student engaged in the education process. Unfortunately, budget constraints don’t allow free reign to carry out their ideas. Many times they tap into their own piggy bank to purchase supplies to supplement their curriculum. ON Semiconductor, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, has partnered with our local Balsz School District to provide grant funds for STEM based projects. This allows teachers to define, plan, purchase and execute projects that enhance the classroom materials without depleting their personal bank accounts. Through an application process, teachers must outline the project goal, the objectives and how they link to academic standards, the number of students impacted by the project, a detailed budget, and an assessment plan. Each application is reviewed and scored for completeness and merit. Those receiving the highest scores are funded through ON Semiconductor’s community service program.
Over the past five years, we have received a variety of applications from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. Reading through the goals and objectives, it is easy to visualize how the materials will enrich the student’s education. One approved project, “Recycle and Reuse” exposes the students to the importance of recycling. Working with Arizona State University, and teachers from kindergarten through fifth grade, students learn alternatives to throwing food waste into landfills. The grant funded the purchase of a 55-gallon composter used to turn food waste into compost for a vegetable garden. This composter rotates on its axis, making it easy for the kids to perform this critical step in the process. During my visit, students brought banana peels and other waste from the cafeteria and tossed it into the composter before moving to the garden to cultivate the soil. Everyone participated in the project and they were proud of their participation in an eco-friendly endeavor.


Another creative use of funding was the Lego® Molecules project. Here, students explore the science of molecules using various colors of Lego blocks. Each Lego color represents a type of element (IE: Hydrogen, Oxygen or Carbon), and like colors are combined to show how many atoms of each element are contained in the molecule. So for Vitamin C, whose chemical formula is C6H8O6, this could be represented by six red blocks, eight blue blocks and six yellow blocks. Now the kids can visually see the molecular structure and apply the same principles to other chemical formulas.

A final project that was particularly interesting was the Solar Car Race. In this project, fifth grade students researched solar energy, the construction of solar panels, and how panels convert the sun’s rays into usable energy. This grant funded the purchase of solar car kits and the students worked in teams to construct the cars, paying close attention to the directions provided with each kit. A race track area was identified and a series of solar car races were held over a four week period. During each race, key data such as speed, mass, track conditions and angle of the sun were recorded. These parameters were compared to previous readings each time a new series of races was held. I had the opportunity to visit a race event and the enthusiasm was incredible. Each team worked diligently to refine their car for optimum performance to guide it to the finish line in the shortest period of time. This was a great example of STEM at work in the classroom - fifth grade students exposed to technology at an early age.

I am proud to work at a company that embraces education initiatives. The small monetary contributions are making a huge impact in our community. I am sure similar programs exist throughout the world. Feel free to comment below and tell me about similar activities you or your company support. Who knows maybe we have helped each other’s children and didn’t even know it!