BIDDEFORD — Science, technology, engineering and math are the focus of a new program established this year at Biddeford Middle School.

The four areas collectively form an area of study known as STEM, a globally growing area of research that trains students to get out from behind their desks, get out in the field and get hands-on in their classwork.

Talks about initiating a program of this sort in Biddeford began in summer 2015, when the school’s principal, Kyle Keenan, and other school administrators attended a regional STEM Academy meeting and became inspired to expand their school’s offerings.

“We said, ‘What are some ways we can start to increase student voice, give students a little bit more choice in their education and find ways we can tap into things kids are passionate about?’” Keenan said. “All those things lead to better engagement with students.”

Keenan said he and other school officials traveled to several schools in Maryland last year to observe different

STEM program models. Their reasoning for the travel, Keenan said, is that many STEM-focused schools in New England are standalone institutions, and BMS wanted to incorporate a STEM Academy within its public school system.

“It turned out to be an eye-opening and helpful trip in accelerating our planning process,” he said. “The cool thing was, we realized we were going to be kind of the first in doing this, particularly at the middle school level,” Keenan said.

By starting in middle school, Keenan added, students can continue their interests throughout high school and be better-prepared for their post-secondary educations.

“Those particular fields are something so many kids are interested in these days. Starting with STEM seemed like a no-brainer,” he said.

There are 60 students enrolled in the STEM Academy, which employs three teachers in the humanities, math and science, and technology and engineering. Keenan said he would love to have more students involved, but the cap was set at the current enrollment when the school began to test its new program.

“We purposely wanted to start off with it being relatively small to make sure we could pull it off and be successful … and not get too big too soon,” Keenan said.

But he knows there’s more interest: 100 students applied for the open slots, and 95 of them were determined to be eligible for the program based on their academic achievements, work habits and one-on-one interviews with administration.

There were so many eligible students, Keenan said, administrators left enrollment to a blind draw.

“We didn’t want to get into the business of ranking students. That’s a ‘no-win’ situation,” Keenan said.

“I think it was nerve-wracking for us a bit, because it’s not typical where a public school creates a situation where you’re going to a blind draw,” said School Superintendent Jeremy Ray. “It’s not something we’d done before.”

But the program seems to be working well, administrators said, because it’s given students the reigns of their own education. While all students in the program still attend their regularly scheduled arts, physical education and foreign language classes, STEM students also receive a “flex block” during the day in which they participate in self-motivated activities.

With that flex period, the students have been hard at work planning a “Couch to 5K” race on school grounds. They have even undertaken the task of assigning committees to divvy up the work, including fundraising and marketing.

“The kids are really excited about it, and I think it comes most from the fact it’s driven and run by them. The teachers are really there just to facilitate,” Keenan said.

On a busy Thursday morning, students in Ray Sampson’s engineering and technology classroom were hard at work designing, constructing and shooting off trebuchets made of toy LEGO and K’NEX pieces.

Keenan said eventually the students will take their designs to the school’s technology lab, where they’ll construct full-size contraptions to launch pumpkins.

And kids were certainly enjoying themselves.

“I build LEGOs all the time, but I usually have instructions,” said 11-year-old Helena Gabryszewski. “I like STEM because you get to brainstorm with people you normally don’t work with … they make educational stuff a lot more interesting.”

“It’s more hands-on and fun,” said Liam Nierle, 11, one of Gabryszewski’s group members.

The group’s third member, Isabella Hutchins, 11, agreed.

“We put each others’ ideas together,” Hutchins said, attributing the success of their fully-functioning trebuchet to a total group effort.

The group effort doesn’t stop at the students, said Robin Tiller, the program’s science instructor.

The three STEM teachers have developed their curriculum to complement each of the program’s components. Right now, as students construct trebuchets in technology, they’re also learning about motion in their science class and about medieval warfare in their social studies and humanities class.

“I love seeing (students) get excited about the content in a new and different way,” Tiller said. “We’re not just giving them the answers.”

Ray said the school is a leader in this type of model, and that it’s a move for a school system reinventing itself as the city around it continues to change.

“I also think it shows people in the community this is not one of those school departments that accepts the status quo,” Ray said. “We want to be unique, we want to be innovative. We want to provide options for kids.”

“Not all kids learn the same way,” Ray continued. “They need different options, different pathways, and something we’re excited about is creating pathways and kind of pushing back on the status quo.”

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].