La Tercera School Gets $10K Grant for STEM Materials

A Petaluma school is $10,000 closer to its goal of being one of the only elementary schools in northern California entirely focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

La Tercera Elementary School, which hopes to become a STEM magnet school, received a $10,000 grant Thursday from the Petaluma Educational Foundation–one of 16 Impact Grant Awards the organization gave out over three days last week.

"How many bake sales would we have to do to raise $10,000?" Principal Julie Hermosillo asked students during an assembly to announce the grant. "We'd have to be baking all day and all night."

The grant will purchase materials to allow students to design a roller coaster, grow plants in the school's greenhouse and design a sneaker. The materials are tailored to various grade levels and can be reused each year.

Hermosillo said a committee of herself and four teachers have been planning the school's transition to a STEM-focused campus since the beginning of the last school year.

"We wanted something that would truly prepare students for the global world they're going to be adults in," Hermosillo said, noting the school hopes to write a magnet grant application later this year.

Fourth-grade teacher Patty Fleming said La Tercera hopes to be a "STEM leader."

It'll be the first STEM elementary school in Sonoma County, the teachers said. They have studied schools in Southern California, Napa, Chico and elsewhere, but found most STEM programs focus on older students, they said. By then, many students have lost interest in science, Hermosillo said.

"We need to start it young," she said.

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