When the Chesterfield County School Board announced a virtual start for the 2020-2021 school year, Heather Russell was excited for the challenge. The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathmatics) teacher immediately started seeking donations to put together engineering STEAM take home bags for every student at Ecoff Elementary, which they will contain consumable building supplies and a STEAM journal for students to complete the first nine weeks of school.
Russell has been a teacher at Ecoff for nine years and in her four years as a STEAM teacher she created STEAMtastic Academy, Ecoff’s first before school program, it won the technology education Teacher of the Year, an EdTech grant and a MCD Classroom Innovation grant, which she used to fund the first robotics competition for Chesterfield County elementary students in March.
The STEAM club has exploded in popularity at Ecoff Elementary, initially starting out with 80 students (kindergarten through fifth grade) to 85 kindergarten through second grade students and 41 third through fifth grade students.
“Since the introduction of STEAMtastic Academy, I now have to implement an application process for our school’s STEAM team and robotics teams, due to the large number of interested applicants,” Russell said. “STEAMtastic Academy has truly ignited a spark at Ecoff Elementary that has continued to burn bright with each new school year.”
Russell was recently named the elementary school Teacher of the Year, which she called an honor.
“I couldn’t have done it without the support of our administration team at Ecoff Elementary, Kristin Tait and Channing Wagner,” Russell said. “Their endless flexibility and encouragement allows me to create unique and memorable lessons for all our students.”
Russell can trace her love for teaching back to her childhood love for Walt Disney World.Ever since she was five years old, she said the theme parks opened her eyes to wonder, imagination, and innovation. She attributes those elements to being the key to learning and credits Disney Imagineering as being one of her greatest teachers.
During the past school year, Russell asked her colleagues to bring in their old Walkmen, iPods and record players for a lesson on the evolution of portable music devices. She built a living museum for her students, who were then tasked with coming up with creating a new device for the future.
“The key to any lesson is the buy in from the students: bringing in props, having guest speakers, taking learning out into the community, or simply setting the stage to where students are physically surrounded by their challenge, (like an escape room) is what makes coming to STEAM resource each week so exciting,” Russell said. “They never know what to expect but are motivated to attack any challenge I give them with teamwork and creativity.”
Russell wants to provide her students with confidence in themselves inside and outside the classroom and said her classroom is a place where mistakes and questions are encouraged. She attends as many professional developments as possible so she can grow as a STEAM educator, and so her design challenges will learn and grow in tune with her students.
“The legacy I hope to leave my students with is to always ask questions, dream big, and never stop inspiring others with your creativity,” Russell said.
