Heritage Academy Elementary School

Heritage Academy engages a diverse STEM community in order to support and sustain STEM programs and initiatives. Our major community partners are Gas South, Prosponsive Logistics, and Wings for Kids.

Heritage Academy's partnership with Gas South began 15 years ago and continues to be an integral component in our ability to sponsor STEM-related activities throughout the school year. Their support includes yearly monetary donations to the school that support the implementation of parent meetings, the purchase of STEM supplies, as well as classroom incentives. Their support has also included allowing their staff to serve as judges at our annual STEM/Science Fair and allowing STEM professionals that work in the company to participate in Career Day activities.  A representative from GAS South also has a position on the Heritage Academy Governance Team (GO Team). This team helps build the yearly strategic plan for the school, as well as determines school priorities (STEM is one) and how our annual budget will support those priorities.

Heritage Academy's partnership with Prosponsive Logistics began in 2017. Prosponsive Logistics has provided Heritage with time and treasures. Prosponsive Logistics' employees have participated in our Fall Festivals and Field Days that have included STEM Challenges. Prosponsive  Logistics has provided resources that enable students to participate in STEM-focused field trips before the pandemic, as well as virtual field trips during the pandemic. They assisted Heritage Academy with becoming STEM-certified, as they provided outreach to our school.  

Wings for Kids (Wings) partners with select Title I elementary schools to provide an after-school program Monday through Friday with a commitment to integrate STEM opportunities with Social Emotional Learning (SEL.)  This partnership with Heritage Academy began in 2018. The theme for Wings is "The sky's the limit when we work together." The focus is to equip Heritage Academy students with social and emotional skills for them to succeed in school, stay in school, and thrive in life. The program provides opportunities for students to develop STEM competencies through hands-on stations, as well as activities that students may not be exposed to otherwise. Wings has partnered with Nerd Ninja Dojo, Girls, Inc., and Nexplore, which are organizations that provide coding and other STEM opportunities. Students are also engaged with Wild Wing Friday, which integrates their SEL lessons and  STEM Challenges in an effort to show students the importance of working together to solve real-world problems.  The staff of Wings provides student surveys to determine the effectiveness of the STEM enrichment programs.