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Advocacy Plan:

New York Institute of Technology

EDIT 626
Professor Silverman
Rebecca Hyman
Fall 2020
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Table of Contents

Specific Desired Outcomes……………….…………………………………………………………………………………..Page 3

Resources and Assets……………….…………………………………………………………………………………….…..…..Page 5

Supporters and Opponents…………………………………………………………………………………...……………..Page 7

Targets and Agents of Change……………….……………………………………………………………….………..Page 8

Strategy and Tactics to Implement Strategy…………………………………………………………..Page 9

Video Pitch……………….……………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………..Page 11
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Specified Desired Outcome

● 100% of students in grades 3-5 will participate in Culinary STEAM enrichment

program
● 50% of grade 3-5 students’ grades will improve in Math and Science NYS
Standardized Tests
● 100% of grades 3-5 classrooms will receive Professional Development about
STEAM to better support students during Culinary STEAM enrichment, and
incorporate the lenses of STEAM into daily instruction

Why STEAM?

STEAM is the pedagogical practice of integrating Science, Technology, Engineering,

Art, and Mathematics into instruction. STEAM Education enables educators to
facilitate high quality instruction that shifts away from teacher-centered lectures
and rote memorization, and instead move towards student-centered, hands-on
experiential learning. Through wonder, discovery, and exploration, students can
master concepts and standards, but also gain a clear grasp on how these concepts
transfer into real world application. STEAM has the power to instill a sense of curiosity
beyond the four walls of a classroom! STEAM opens up more points of entry and
greater access to marginalized communities including Black Indigeneous People of
Color, Students with Disabilities, and females.

I propose a Culinary STEAM enrichment program be launched at our school so as to

explicitly integrate essential life skills and increase critical thinking through the study
of food science and more! This enrichment program will be geared towards all
students in grades 3-5. This is inclusive of students enrolled in General Education,
Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT), 12-1 Special Education, and Gifted and Talented
settings. The first specified desired outcome is that 100% of students in grades 3-5 will
participate in the Culinary STEAM enrichment program. It is imperative that this
STEAM program be facilitated in an equitable way. The content will be hands-on and
rigorous, and will be differentiated to ensure that all learners can achieve.

It is projected that the integration of explicit instruction around Science, Technology,

Engineering, Art and Mathematics will positively impact students’ overall academic
achievement. Content will be transferable across other disciplines, as well as into
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real-world applications. Therefore, the second specified desired outcome is that 50%
of grades 3-5 students’ grades will improve in Math and Science NYS Standardized
Tests.

In order for the Culinary STEAM enrichment program to be successful, there must be
teacher buy-in. For this to occur, teachers must be informed and supported. In turn,
they will be able to inform and support their scholars. The final specified desired
outcome is that 100% of grades 3-5 classrooms will receive Professional
Development about STEAM to better support students during Culinary STEAM
enrichment, and incorporate the lenses of STEAM into daily instruction.
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Resources and Assets

In order to implement the Culinary STEAM enrichment program, our school will
need access to certain supplies and materials. While some culinary food
science experiments may be more cost effective than others, may be very
cost efficient. An outline for a recommended budget can be located below.
Additionally, our school’s library is currently out of use. I propose we transform
the library into a safe and practical Culinary Lab. Another asset we already
have access to is our laptop cart full of 25 functioning chromebooks. These
should be utilized to maximize planning and instruction for the STEAM
program. For example, when students conduct experiments and measure the
temperature changes of certain foods and chemical reactions using the
temperature probe, they can connect the probes to said chromebooks to
collect and later analyze the data.

Furthermore, many videos are accessible for free online. These videos can be
used to hook students’ interest, launch a lesson, and/or supplement content.
Below you will find three videos that may be integrated into this enrichment
program at no cost.

● Videos:
○ How to Teach Kids Science through Cooking
○ Cooking as Never Seen Before
○ Why Ketchup is so Hard to Pour
● Articles and Information:
○ How to Incorporate STEM in the Kitchen
■ Bright Horizons = possible school STEAM partnership
○ Culinary Arts Integration Turning Stem to Steam
○ Beyond the Kitchen: Cooking in the STEM Classroom
○ Culinary Arts Integration: 12 PBL Activities Students Can Sink Their Teeth
Into
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● Current Assets:
○ Library (currently unused space as library is not being used) →
Transform into Culinary Lab
○ 25 chromebooks
● Budget:

Proposed Budget for Culinary STEAM Enrichment Program

Material: Projected Cost:

Teacher Professional Development $50 per 1 hour session X2 =

$100

Fresh produce $850

Culinary tools (i.e. lettuce knives, food scales,

thermometers and temperature probes, measuring $200
cups/spoons, reusable placemats, etc.)

PPE (i.e. synthetic gloves, goggles, etc.) $100

Total $1,250
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Supporters and Opponents

Supporters Opponents

● Superintendent ● Taxpayers
● Administrators ● Other monetary contributors
● Teachers ● Custodial staff (?)
● Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
● Students

Launching this Culinary STEAM Enrichment program at our school would introduce a
high-interest, hands-on experience for young learners. This program would teach
participants foundational skills in the field of culinary arts, and cooking/baking.
Additionally, it would allow them to explore food science, computer coding, and
more. Depending on the budget, the options are endless! This enrichment program
can be differentiated to be as basic, intermediate, or advanced as funding and
student ability levels allow. I believe that this program would be appealing to the
district superintendent and administrators, as it brings rigorous content to our
school. I anticipate parents and teachers supporting this program too, as it will
enhance student learning experiences, provide a niche opportunity for STEAM
education, and encourage critical thinking skills which can be applied in real-world
contexts. If students had a voice in this decision, I am confident they would advocate
in favor of it.

It is anticipated that taxpayers and other monetary contributors may be opposed to

this enrichment programs. This is because they are financial stakeholders in the
community, and may oppose the value of this program. While I believe that custodial
staff would see the value in a STEAM program, they may oppose this program. This is
in part because it involves students interacting with food in a hands-on way, which
can be messy! It is vital that the lab be cleaned thoroughly so as to ensure no mice
or cockroaches infest the space. This may increase the complexity of their job
responsibilities as well as the amount of time they allot towards cleaning routines in
the Culinary Lab site.
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Targets and Agents of Change

The identified target of change is our grades 3-5 students. The goal is to change and
improve their comprehension of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and
Mathematics. Furthermore, an important agent of change is students’ attitudes and
perceptions towards STEAM, and their abilities to achieve. Many scholars have
negative attitudes and perceptions, and do not believe they are capable of attaining
accomplishments in the areas of STEAM. Some students have the misconception
that because they are artistic and creative, they are ‘bad’ mathematicians and
scientists. Access to this program can reveal conceptions that ‘right-brained’ and
‘left-brained’ learners are not limited or restricted to one type of learning style.
Additionally, an agent of change is to help students place more value on the process
of learning, and see how it correlates to real-world applications. We want students to
understand the importance of STEAM concepts by seeing how it plays a role in their
everyday lives, and how it may transfer into future academic and career paths.
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Strategy and Tactics to Implement Strategy

Pace Strategy Tactics

Month Access approval from ● Submit advocacy plan for approval

1 administration and ● Present video pitch to explain program, and elicit
stakeholders to initiate buy-in from stakeholders.
Culinary STEAM Enrichment
program at PS 33 Chelsea
Prep.

Month Hire a qualified ● Conduct interviews or,

2 Instructional Technology ● Outsource partnership program (i.e. Bright Horizons,
Specialist or STEAM local chef/food scientist)
Educator. ● Conduct demo lessons to ensure the candidate is
qualified to instruct labs, meet developmental needs
of grade 3-5 scholars, integrate STEAM lenses into
instruction, etc.

Month Plan Effectively! ● Finalize budget

3 ● Collect all necessary materials (other than fresh
produce, as fresh produce should be bought month
by month to ensure quality)
● Organize classroom schedules
● Communicate with teachers and support staff as
needed

Month Provide Professional ● Engage all grades 3-5 teachers in 1 hour of research
3 Development to Teachers based professional development
● Focus PD on pillars of STEAM

Month Provide Professional
4 Development to Teachers
● Engage all grades 3-5 teachers in 1 hour of research
based professional development
● Focus PD on specific content, pacing, and
expectations in preparation for Culinary STEAM
Enrichment program.

Month Facilitate Community ● Parent Coordinator will contact parents and

4 Outreach guardians of all students in grade 3-5 to inform them
of the upcoming enrichment program
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● Parent Coordinator will elicit parent, family, and

community volunteers to supervise upcoming labs
and contribute in any additional ways as needed.

Months Engage grade 3-5 students ● Each class should visit the Culinary Lab at least once
5-10 in Culinary STEAM per month
Enrichment program ● Supplemental materials can be provided in class, for
homework, etc.
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Video Pitch

Access my advocacy video pitch by clicking the link below!

https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYlefzN3nM