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In recent years, the Mansfield Independent School District, located just 25 miles outside of Dallas, Texas, has become the subject of much interest from school districts within and beyond the Lone Star State.
In fact, in October 2023, 50 superintendents flew to the area to tour and learn more about the district—particularly, the district’s academies of leadership; fine arts; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
For Victoria Webster, the district’s director of STEM and the architect of its STEM academies, this attention validates the approaches she has taken and the work her team has done.
Even more remarkable is that this progress has been achieved in only six years.
In this blog, Mouser Electronics and Victoria Webster discuss how the Mansfield Independent School District exemplifies the value of project-based learning through its STEM academies.
Victoria Webster, M.Ed. is the Director of STEM Education at Mansfield Independent School District in Mansfield, Texas. With a background in mid-level education, innovative instruction, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education with 20 years of experience, she has played a key role in building a pipeline of STEM education choices within Mansfield ISD. Additionally, Victoria has served as a STEM consultant to school systems in the Northeast. She was recognized as a Top 10 STEM Director in 2023 by Technology Education Insights magazine.
Just seven years ago, Webster—a middle school science teacher for ten years and administrator for two years—was hired to be the principal of the district’s first STEM academy.
To help define her vision for the academy, she devoured key literature, including STEM by Design, by Anne Jolly, and The STEM Shift, by Ann Myers and Jill Berkowicz. She also visited other Texas STEM academies.
“In our state, we tended to see a STEM elective, computer science and robotics only, or a STEM Day,” Webster remembers. “We knew that we wanted our approach to be different and embrace a fully integrative STEM model.”
Webster also gleaned critical insights from West Coast and Northeast schools that were using project-based learning. These findings solidified her vision for what Mansfield’s STEM academies would be but also brought new challenges.
“Because this was new for our area, we had to create as we went,” she explains. “We had to educate everyone on our version of STEM. We would think it was going to cost a certain amount of money only to realize that it was going to be more expensive than anticipated.”
Having strong community partners, like Mouser Electronics, helped fill gaps in funding and knowledge of industry needs from K-12 STEM education.
After so much preparation, the district opened its first STEM academy in 2017 with a class of 75 students in grades six through eight. Students applied the four areas of STEM simultaneously through project-based learning opportunities.
For example, the first class was given the challenge of creating sustainable floating cities in places where population growth had surpassed available land.
“We had sixth graders designing in Tinkercad and SketchUp,” Webster recalls. “They all had engineering notebooks that they kept and used just like real engineers do. They 3D-modeled their floating cities, taking into account density, building materials, and sustainability. So, the project took all the content areas and focused them on a real-world problem, and the students learned the content through solving that problem.”
In the years since the first academy opened, this approach has proven to be a winner. From the first 75 students in 2017, the district’s STEM academies have expanded to serve a total of 1,288 students. These academies have grown to include students from third through twelfth grade, allowing them to start earlier and continue their STEM-focused education through high school. The academies also provide transportation so that any student, regardless of their home situation, has the opportunity to attend.
Additionally, partner support has continued to enrich the student experience.
“Mouser Electronics has provided the funding for everything from makerspaces to maker carts to 3D printers,” explains Webster. “More recently, they have provided funding for real-world drones that will help our students survey buildings to see how they need to be updated. Our middle schoolers will receive underwater drones to perform ecological studies on area creeks and ponds.”
Partners also have been instrumental in helping the district build a pipeline for students to transition from the academies to real-world work experiences, enabling them to earn computer programming certifications and secure internships while still in high school.
But perhaps even more remarkable than the head count and program improvements are the outcomes seen in those students who are preparing to graduate.
Mansfield’s STEM academy students uniformly post test scores exponentially higher than the state averages and higher even than those of their peers in Advanced Placement (AP) classes at traditional campuses. But that’s just the beginning.
“We’re growing that passion for STEM at a very young age, but we also are equipping them with the soft skills to be able to communicate effectively and collaborate,” Webster enlightens. “They also leave with an electronic portfolio they’ve been developing since they were in third grade. They learn how to showcase their work and how to talk about their achievements. This makes them much more competitive for things like internships and jobs.”
In addition, students who started as sixth graders in the original academy are now exhibiting their skills in career and technical education competitions. A junior in the program recently beat 25,000 applicants—most of whom were college-level computer science majors—for a computer science internship with State Farm.
Another STEM academy student emerged amongst 1,000 applicants for an internship with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. As a high school senior, she is working as an intern in a real lab within the biomedical field.
When asked what aspiring districts should do to achieve similar STEM success, Webster responds, “Get students focused on how those skills can be used to solve real-world problems and change the world. This also gives them more opportunities to engage in those higher-thinking skill sets.”
She also notes the importance of starting early. “Allow all kids the opportunity to build a STEM identity younger because they often get a fixed mindset by the time they get into high school,” she explains. “This helps with diversity issues because they build that STEM identity regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race.”
Finally, Webster emphasizes the need to involve community partners. In addition to providing much-needed funding, she says, “Your industry partners will tell you what they need from the job market and inform the skill sets you should develop in the students.”
Mouser Electronics is an industry leader in supporting educational initiatives that inspire and engage students in STEM-related projects and initiatives. Through its unwavering support of education, particularly at the university and secondary levels, Mouser strives to motivate, inspire, and encourage new generations of engineers and scientists to lead us forward.
Mouser Electronics, founded in 1964, is a globally authorized distributor of semiconductors and electronic components for over 1,200 industry-leading manufacturer brands. This year marks the company's 60th anniversary. We specialize in the rapid introduction of the newest products and technologies targeting the design engineer and buyer communities. Mouser has 28 offices located around the globe. We conduct business in 23 different languages and 34 currencies. Our global distribution center is equipped with state-of-the-art wireless warehouse management systems that enable us to process orders 24/7, and deliver nearly perfect pick-and-ship operations.