Originally Published in IVCBA Live.Work.Play. Written by Mary Danahey
Incline Middle School’s (IMS) new principal, Daniel Lediard, is excited to bring his 25 years of experience as an educator here to Tahoe and be able to work with the phenomenal staff at IMS. When asked about his new role, Lediard said “I am excited to bring my skills to this great school and be able to support our IMS students, staff, parents and the Incline community”.
Lediard understands middle school students, especially since he has two of his own, and how complex navigating the early teenage years can be. He knows that middle school aged students are dealing with not only the physical aspects of puberty, but the academic and emotional aspects as well.
Middle school is designed to offer more a academically challenging curriculum to students just as their ability to process complex thinking is developing. This is happening at the same time that peer pressure and now the influence of social media is taking root. Lediard believes that IMS’s small classes and nurturing environment provide an excellent launchpad to encourage and motivate students as they stretch their academic efforts.
As such, Lediard credits IMS with maintaining focus on what is best for its students. Toward that end, he and his staff have three goals:
-continue a robust curriculum that solidifies students’ reading and writing strategies
-move IMS toward a STEM School Designation
-solidifiy the new IMS Exploratory program
“With both the Incline elementary and high schools already achieving the Nevada Designated STEM School status, IMS is working to join their ranks and create the only K12 STEM school alignment in the state,” Lediard said. To help make that happen, IMS is working with the Incline Education Fund to create the framework that Nevada STEM Schools require. Utilizing grant funds received from both the Nevada Governors’ Office of Science, Innovation & Technology and the Tahoe Fund, IMS is expanding their robotics curriculum and launching a community-wide “Trash to Treasure” program (see insert).
Lediard explained that becoming a hub of STEM innovation involves providing teaching opportunities that are centered on inquiry, technology, and project-based learning activities that can be tiedto the real world.
STEM schools challenge students to partner with the local community and businesses to solve local problems. STEM projects are relatable to a wide range of students because they are engaging, hands-on learning projects that allow them to interact with new tools, materials and concepts. For middle school students who want to become the next generation of innovators and inventors, STEM programs give them the chance to learn through real-world application of their skills.
This focus on STEM will become the bridge between the makerspace program at the elementary school and the engineering program at the high school, creating a unique opportunity for students to take STEM classes from kindergarten to 12th grade.
Lediard’s third goal for IMS is to build up the Exploratory program that was created by IMS’s previous principal, Kari Michael. With support from Incline Education Fund and local community partners, this weekly program allows students to explore other areas of interest and exposes them to numerous career and college pathways. It also provides a runway for the high school’s Learning through Interest program. Students choose between a variety of on and off campus opportunities each semester and include topics like: robotics, culinary arts, podcasting, swimming, bowling, entrepreneurship, XC-skiing, crochet and more.
“These programs set Incline Village apart from every school I’ve worked in”, said Lediard. “Since I accepted this position, I am enjoying being able to connect with students on a more personal basis and working within a supportive community. I can’t think of a better location to serve as a school leader,” Lediard said.
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TRASH TO TREASURE description
Teams of students, local service groups and individual community members will be coordinated to collect trash and debris found in the Tahoe basin. The collected trash will be analyzed, measured and turned into communal art pieces with the specific purpose of informing the general public about the importance of keeping the Tahoe basin trash free. Watch for upcoming information on collection dates in the IVCBA SnapShot.
This was originally published in the EDITION of LWP magazine. You can read all LWP issues here: LIVE.WORK.PLAY
