AMSTI night held in county schools

Phil Campbell Elementary School held their Alabama Math and Science Technology Initiative event Thursday night at the school.

The purpose of the event is to invite parents into the school to see the things their children have been learning through the AMSTI program, a state program with the purpose of getting students more interested in the fields of math and science.

At the event, students taught their parents or guardians different math and science lessons that they have learned this school year. The lessons included hands-on activities and experiments.

“State educators started noticing there was a lack of students across the country in the fields of math and science,” AMSTI-UNA Assistant Site Director Shannon Uptain said, “so the AMSTI program was established to provide teaching resources to participating schools and make math and science more interesting and engaging.”

The AMSTI parent event that was held at PCES is not an event that is mandated by the program. Schools that participate in the AMSTI program are given the option of having an event to get the parents involved, and PCES principal Jackie Ergle knew that was something she wanted her school to participate in.

“We want our parents to be aware of the different methods we use to help their children learn these vital math and science skills,” Ergle said. “Most of the time, parents only see the worksheets their child brings home and they don’t get to see the hands-on activities they do in the classroom. AMSTI night is an excellent way for us to show the parents that these activities are helping us connect with the students.”

The program provides participating schools with resources such as games to foster math skills and equipment to perform science experiments. Ergle said that activities like these help the students learn through exploring and thinking.

“We’re seeking ways to help the students develop higher thinking skills through discovery, guessing, predictions and forming a hypothesis,” she said. “The students really love it and we can see that it makes a difference. The students retain this hands-on information and once it’s absorbed, it’s there forever.”

In addition to PCES, other local schools that participate in the AMSTI program include Belgreen High School, Russellville Middle School and Vina High School.