Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Whitesburg Elementary Becomes First School in Georgia to Earn National Certificate for STEM Excellence from National Institute for STEM Education

  • 05/11/18

Houston–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Whitesburg Elementary School, a rural, Title I school in the Carroll County School System, is the first school in Georgia to earn the National Certificate for STEM Excellence from the National Institute for STEM Education (NISE). The National Certificate for STEM Excellence recognizes

“Children in our community will have to compete with children who have very different experiences and levels of opportunity. We want to ensure that our students are college and career ready, and provide them with skills to be prepared for jobs that don’t even exist yet,” said Marissa Ogando, principal of Whitesburg Elementary. “NISE not only supports our vision, but it integrates perfectly with what we’re already doing, so it’s not just ‘one more thing to do.’ It has given us new strategies, tools, and modalities to meet the Common Core standards and deliver our content in a more effective way.”

With the support of an experienced STEM coach, five Whitesburg teachers completed the National Certificate in STEM Teaching (NCST), while the school concurrently completed its requirements for the National Certificate in STEM Excellence-Campus Certificate (NCSE).

“NISE is competency-based. It provides a clear, consistent professional learning path and we absolutely loved the certification process,” said Ogando. “It gave us a new way to look at how we were delivering instruction so we could become better at facilitating students’ learning. Now our students own the learning, and we’re helping them develop the skills they’ll need to succeed in college and careers.”

About the National Institute for STEM Education

NISE is more than a certifying body. It is a research-based support system for campuses and teachers seeking to strengthen STEM instruction and outcomes. Based on 15 STEM Teacher Actions that evolved from STEM professional development originally created at Rice University, NISE’s Campus and Teacher Certificates help school leaders and teachers understand and apply research and best practices in STEM, 21st-century learning, and professional development.

For information, visit nise.institute.

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Phoenix School District Breaks Ground on New Prep Academy

    The Creighton Elementary School District near Phoenix, Ariz., recently broke ground on a campus replacement for Biltmore Preparatory Academy, according to a news release. The new space will allow the school to expand its enrollment by 50 percent for K–8 students and accommodate modern, collaborative learning styles.

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).

  • S4L Announces 2026 Education Design Showcase Winners

    Spaces4Learning is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Education Design Showcase! Now in its 27th year, the annual awards program honors innovative solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction across K–12 and higher education.