MANSFIELD— Springmill STEM likely won’t have a seventh grade class until at least 2027, Mansfield City Schools Supt. Stan Jefferson said Tuesday.
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, representing a curriculum and career focus aimed at fostering innovation and technical skills. STEM education emphasizes fields like computing, engineering, and the sciences, often with a focus on preparing students for future job markets.
Springmill STEM Elementary opened in 2017. The magnet school currently serves students in grades K-6 and is STEM-designated for those grades K-6 by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
Jefferson said his recommendation to the school board is to expand the Springmill’s offerings to include seventh grade during the 2027-2028 school year, then add eighth grade the following year.
“By 2031, STEM occupations are projected to grow at more than twice the rate of all other occupations of America,” Jefferson said. “Why would we not want our youth to have as many opportunities as we can?”
Jefferson said a key element of STEM education, project-based learning, is occuring at Mansfield Middle School. But he argues the district should offer a STEM-focused path to its middle school students.
“There really is no STEM pathway from there [in middle school] to the CTE programs at the Mansfield Senior High School,” Springmill Principal Cara Will said last month.
“There are some courses that they can take and there are some CTE programs that are pushing down into the middle school, but there’s no clear pathway that’s aligned with the STEM program that we do.”
Will gave a presentation to the board in February outlining what it would take to add seventh grade as early as next school year.
She said enrollment at Springmill Elementary is at 222 students and is projected to increase to 257 next school year.
The building would need to seek an additional designation for new grades, adjust its lunch times and bus schedules and modify its building.
Will said the building would need two to three more classrooms to accommodate another grade level, and would have to incorporate a second kindergarten class with expected enrollment increases.
Will said the two science galleries would be lost to make room for those classes. Other modifications would include making larger toilets and drinking fountains to accommodate older students, as well as purchasing larger furniture.
Springmill staff urge board members not to rush expansion
Several teachers and staff from Springmill STEM voiced opposition to the idea of adding seventh grade to the school at the February board meeting.
Jefferson said he and the district’s facilities director, Bob Booth, have since visited the building and spoken with staff.
“We have taken a visit to make sure we can address those (facilities) issues,” Jefferson said. “The cost to address them is not a very large amount.”
But educators also questioned how expanding the grade levels would impact staffing and school culture.
Intervention specialist Jade Harner and teacher Elizabeth Shirk both addressed the board Tuesday night.
Harner said she was concerned the school was being pressured to expand too quickly, without taking into account the developmental differences between elementary and middle school students.
“When we introduce the older students into an elementary environment, it could create challenges for both groups. Younger students may be exposed to social dynamics that they are not ready for,” she said.
Harner said staff members want more support from district administrators to serve the existing student body.
“I’m all for what is best for the kids, but I think that if we want to do that, then we need to grow what we have and build it better,” she said. “We have the potential, but we need the training, we need the support in order to do that.”
Shirk, a teacher and mother of a Springmill STEM student, said she wants the district to have a clear plan and avoid “rushing” to add grade levels.
“We would love to expand the program at STEM, however there are many obstacles that haven’t been thoroughly addressed,” she said.
Jefferson said enrollment will drive hiring for additional grades
Board members posed several questions about a potential expansion, ranging from the logistics of building modifications to staffing implications.
Linda Golden said she believes if an expansion were to take place, the school would need its own full-time counselor and additional intervention specialists.
The current school counselor splits time between Springmill STEM and Spanish Immersion. Shirk said about one-fourth of the students in her class visit the school counselor.
“Some of them ask me daily, ‘When will the counselor be coming to see me?'” she said. “We need to provide services to the students that we have, or we will lose them to a district that can.”
Board vice president Leslie Ward asked how seventh and eighth graders at Springmill STEM would participate in middle school classes like band, music and career tech exploration.
Jefferson said school administrators are having ongoing conversations to work out those details. He can’t be sure how many additional staff members it would take to convert Springmill STEM to a K-8 building because it will ultimately depend on enrollment.
“It could be one and a half (full time positions), it could be more than one and a half,” he said. “Your enrollment drives how you address those needs.”
Jefferson did not provide a cost estimate for the renovations that would need to take place at the building, but he and Booth said they were confident the building has room for additional students.
“That building had over 300 kids in it, with the same kitchens and the same cafeteria,” Booth said when asked about the lunchroom. “It can be done.”