Georgia Youth Science & Technology Centers (GYSTC) has recently awarded Tammy Sharpe, Engineering and Coding Instructor at Thomas County Middle School, with the Georgia STEM Scholar Award. The Georgia STEM Scholar Award recognizes outstanding certified teachers in grades K-8 who are working to integrate effective STEM education in their classrooms. Georgia STEM Scholars demonstrate a passion and determination to provide students with innovative and challenging STEM experiences along with creating an atmosphere of exploration that excites, energizes, and equips students to pursue enhanced educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Tammy Sharpe believes that Thomas County Middle School is on the cutting edge of STEM education. “Students today will enter a workforce that demands they have coding skills. Small businesses in our community, like South Life Supply Co., require coding skills of their employees. If a person has the ability to modify a webpage to customize and streamline online ordering from a business website, that is a valuable skill to the employee. It gives them an advantage over other applicants. The business also benefits by having modifications made inhouse. Teaching students these skills now will prepare them to be tremendous assets to our communities and provide more options for them as they choose what they want to do when they grow up.”
Sharpe will be recognized along with twenty-five other educators throughout the state of Georgia on March 19, 2020 at the Georgia International Conference Center in Atlanta. Recipients will each receive a $500 grant to purchase STEM education materials for their classroom as well as receive free admission to a two-day GYSTC Summer STEM Institute to be held on June 2-3, 2020 at Kennesaw State University. During the Institute, teachers will participate in Super STEM Challenges, Robotics and Coding Activities, and Top 10 STEM Explorations. In addition, teachers will develop their own engaging STEM Challenge to be shared with their teaching colleagues.
