STEMlogoJamestown (CSi) At Monday’s Jamestown Public School Board meeting, a program to help children grasp science using visual and hands-on activities was endorsed by Mari Stilwell.

Stilwell, is a reading coach at Roosevelt Elementary School. She updated the School Board, saying about a $25,000 Monsanto grant to fund a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) grant pilot project for second- and fourth-graders. She said a second $25,000 grant application to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction would fund materials and train teachers to add third and fifth grades.

The project combines science, engineering and reading in a more hands-on way to engage young learners, using the “Picture-Perfect Science Lessons” series from the National Science Teachers Association Press, Stilwell said. The pilot project succeeded in getting more students to grasp concepts in physical and life sciences and gets kids more engaged in STEM activities, she said.

Enrollment reports for the 2015-2016 school year noted there are 115 students from Jamestown going to other school districts. There are 56 students from other districts attending Jamestown schools. Twenty-six families optioned to home school 60 children.

The meeting was recorded by CSi 10 THE REPLAY CHANNEL, with showings to follow.