Our campus has been certified as a STEAM School twice so far… The Elementary Academy earned this recognition in 2017 and the Junior Academy earned the recognition in 2018 from the Georgia Department of Education.
This important designation was created to recognize institutions committed to providing high-quality educational opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. The certifications confirm Drew’s position as a statewide leader in innovative education. Of course, the marathon continues- Drew’s Senior Academy is also in the process of earning this certification next!
We began pre-COVID and with new systems in place the process has resumed. This section will highlight student work which will be submitted for STEAM CERTIFICATION. Please note, ALL SENIOR ACADEMY students will have a portfolio displayed for this certification, for additional support or to work with the STEAM team on this portfolio please reach out to ….
Portfolios Mission:
Students will have a collection of their work and thoughts that will remain in their hands throughout their life. Portfolios can be used for college entrance applications, job applications, and scholarship applications.
To view the 2021 Portfolio Tip & Kudos to add or mirror in your Portfolio: CLICK HERE
This week I would like to recognize Destiny Hodges in the Portfolio Spotlight. Destiny has a very compelling Home Page. She uses images to show the world her story. She has also made her website stand out from everyone else because she has changed the colors and format from the template. Her Academic pages are on point! She has visuals for each project as well as descriptions. One thing she could improve on is organizing her extracurricular pages and adding more information on each page.
Portfolio Tips & Shoutouts!
- Make sure your homepage is engaging with interesting pictures and a compelling story–your story! This is the first thing people see when they go to your page and it needs to capture their attention. Christian does this with amazing pictures and we learn a lot about Christian via his pictures and written summary. Finally, just make sure everything on the page is complete–sections that are unfinished also say something about you!
- Make sure your homepage is engaging with interesting pictures and a compelling story–your story! This is the first thing people see when they go to your page and it needs to capture their attention. Christian does this with amazing pictures and we learn a lot about Christian via his pictures and written summary. Finally, just make sure everything on the page is complete–sections that are unfinished also say something about you!
- Including samples of your work and writing about the process is very beneficial to your portfolio. Be sure to check out this students “Academics” tab where her 10th grade projects and Engineering work is located. Make sure that you have work samples on your “Academics” pages. Hide pages in the menu that are empty.
- Joseph does a great job of featuring his Independent Studies. This really helps the audience get to know his interests outside of traditional classes. He also does an excellent job of describing his project with pictures and paragraphs. One thing he could do to improve (most students could do) would be to make sure his Google Sheets document on the page is viewable to those outside the Drew domain. To check to see if you have made things viewable, sign out of all accounts or ask a friend or family member that does not attend Drew to check out your pages to see if all content is visible.
- This week’s Portfolio Highlight is Israel Doby. Israel does a great job of showcasing his personality with an awesome home/front page. The information and photos featured are unique to him. Israel also does a great job of hiding pages in the navigation tabs up top that do not have any information yet. The only pages Israel features in the menu are pages that have content. Israel could improve by renaming his portfolio his name (in the upper left corner) and by developing more content. Things like a resume or brag sheet would be great! Israel–nice work!
- Mylan Lowe has done a great job on the entry page of her portfolio. The entry page gives us an idea of her personality and what is important to her. Remember to occasionally go in and update information–or add information on your pages that does not need to be updated. Mylan just needs to get content on the other pages!
- The home page makes quite a statement as the student shares some of the highlights of her experiences as a Drew student. This along with the images, engage the viewer to dig deeper and explore the other pages. Kimela has done a great job of hiding pages that lack content and making sure all content is visible to outside viewers. A suggestion would be to keep adding to your Learning Journal, even if there is not an assignment to do so! Keep up the good work!
- Niles Holt has done a great job of showcasing his 9th grade work, especially his Engineering work. Something he could do to improve would be to add more images throughout the site. The site needs more of Niles’ personality. Keep up the good work Niles.
- This week I would like to recognize Destiny Hodges in the Portfolio Spotlight. Destiny has a very compelling Home Page. She uses images to show the world her story. She has also made her website stand out from everyone else because she has changed the colors and format from the template. Her Academic pages are on point! She has visuals for each project as well as descriptions. One thing she could improve on is organizing her extracurricular pages and adding more information on each page.
