Refection: Karen Gerow, Double Helix STEAM School

Karen Gerow came to visit our class about a week before we began our semester long practicum at her school. Karen is the founding director and math teacher at Double Helix STEAM School in Athens, GA. Karen created Double Helix because of her experience as a math teacher in public schools. She noticed that the traditional format and curriculum of public schools do not fit the needs or learning styles of all students, meaning some students become left behind, frustrated or labeled as a ‘problem’ because they have such difficulty falling in line with the standards laced on student. Karen grew frustrated with how the public school system was failing students and decided to make the daring decision to create her own school.

Double Helix started in a home and with only a few students, by word of mouth the school grew and accepted students who had been removed from more traditional school settings. It has been five years since her decision and Double Helix is a private school for students in 3rd- 8thgrade in an old farmhouse on many acres of land. The School is doing so well, with over forty students, they will have to move soon enough.

Karen explained how Double Helix differs from a more traditional approach to education through STEAM. STEAM is an educational approach that incorporates Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. The students at Double Helix help the teachers and staff to create a theme for each semester’s curriculum. She referenced ‘fire’ being a past theme and building the entire curriculum around an interconnected curriculum that centered around fire. The school does not prescribe to traditional grades, rather they group students in levels of mastery. This approach allows for students who are struggling in an area like reading or math, to grow at the correct rate and have a better understanding of the materials, creating a higher sense of self-efficacy for the students. After hearing Karen speak about Double Helix, I am very interested to be involved with this style of education for the semester!