Armwood High School was proud to celebrate the official unveiling of its STEAM Lab space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 21.
The ceremony featured notable speakers, including Principal Dina Langston, representatives from the Building Excellence Foundation, Amazon representatives and esteemed school board members. Among the guests was Ted Newfield, computer science teacher at Armwood and the STEAM Lab project lead, whose vision and dedication have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition.
Funds for the new STEAM Lab were provided through an Amazon award granted to Newfield in 2023. Newfield was one of just 10 selected among thousands of eligible teachers as an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Award recipient and received $25,000 to expand computer science and/or robotics education at his school. The Amazon Future Engineer program is a computer science and STEM education program that seeks to afford all young people the opportunity to explore their potential.
“We were excited to fund the development of Armwood High School’s STEAM Lab and equally thrilled to join 2023 Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of Year Ted Newfield to celebrate opening the space to students,” said Sam Blatt, economic development manager at Amazon. “We want students to know how exploring and building foundational STEAM skills can help them achieve their professional goals, whatever those might be.”
Armwood High School faculty, staff, students and other supporters of STEAM education were in attendance at the recent open house. The session offered a comprehensive overview of the lab’s capabilities, including professional development opportunities for educators interested in integrating innovative technologies into their curriculums.
“We are thrilled to unveil this new STEAM lab space, which represents a significant milestone in our commitment to fostering excellence in education,” remarked Principal Dina Langston. “This initiative would not have been possible without the determination of Mr. Newfield, our computer science teacher, and the unwavering support of our community partners and stakeholders.”
Armwood High School is located at 12000 U.S. 92 in Seffner. It was recently recognized with a National Award of Merit Distinction from Magnet Schools of America. For more information, visit www.hillsboroughschools.org/armwood.
