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June 30, 2017Christ the King Catholic School in Jacksonville is the first school in the state to receive STREAM certification from the Florida Catholic Conference (FCC) accreditation program. STREAM certification requires the school to integrate science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math throughout the entire school.
The process is challenging and can be lengthy. Christ the King began building its STREAM program during the 2011-12 school year with focus groups for parents. Five years later, the school hosted its FCC STREAM certification visit on March 22-23, 2017, completing the process and earning the certification.
“We are so excited to be the first school in Florida to get the accreditation,” Principal Stephanie Engelhardt said. “We’re very proud.”
STREAM certification demands integration of the mission and Catholic identity, project-based and hands-on learning, coordinated curriculum wherein the subjects support one another, authentic use of technology and more.
“In grades sixth through eighth, I put an iPad in every child’s hands,” Principal Engelhardt said. In kindergarten through fifth grade, an iPad is available for every two students. This technology and a variety of student projects, many of which included an opportunity to learn about social teaching of the Church, contributed to the successful bid toward certification.
Environment-oriented projects include butterfly and vegetable gardens, solar panels, and keeping data about Strawberry Creek. Vegetables have been donated to L’Arche Harbor House, a nearby home for disabled adults. Several middle school activities revolve around improving the lives of farm workers, including a pulley system developed by the sixth grade that is designed to help lift tomato buckets into trucks and a student-written book about the lives of two children from diverse backgrounds.
Christ the King continues to look for ways to expand and improve their program. This summer, they will be creating an Engineering Lab designed to offer hands-on learning in the various engineering specialties.
Christ the King shares their STREAM school distinction with St. Anthony Catholic School in Ft. Lauderdale. They hosted their FCC visit on May 4-5, 2017, and were subsequently awarded the STREAM certification. Congratulations to both Christ the King and St. Anthony Catholic schools.
Photos: Diocese of St. Augustine | Woody Huband
