Staff Spotlight: STARBASE Advanced Team
Written by: Andrew K. Dennis, Jr.
Let’s meet the STARBASE Advanced Team! Our team consists of three members: myself, Andrew K. Dennis, Jr., Program Coordinator; Donnie Howard, STEM Facilitator; and Jamal Smith, STEM Facilitator. STARBASE Advanced, formerly known as STARBASE 2.0, is a unique school-based after-school program that targets students in 6th to 8th grade. The program operates in partnering schools that have expressed a desire for additional DoD STARBASE program resources. Currently, our team serves 14 schools across 10 school districts. This year, we have welcomed three new schools to our program: Pulaski County Middle School, Wilkinson County Middle School, and Gray Station Middle School.
STARBASE Advanced is highly structured and designed to support school goals by increasing student interest and knowledge in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), enhancing engagement with school, and raising awareness about careers in STEAM fields. We employ a variety of team projects to achieve these objectives. Our students are currently participating in the First Lego League Competition and are learning how to build, code, and program Lego robots as well as aerial robots.
If you are interested in learning more about our programs or would like to volunteer, please email me, Andrew K. Dennis, Jr., at andrew@starbaserobins.org.