Albuquerque Public Schools
Roosevelt Middle School - 2024 Best in Class Winner
2024 Best In Class Nominee Roosevelt Middle School for SMART Farm/Engineering Club
Students working on a project.
At Roosevelt Middle School, we use the engineering design process to solve real-world problems. Our Smart Farm Project, for example, addresses overpopulation, dwindling habitats, and the challenges facing food production for the future. To address these issues, we have created an indoor vertical farm that optimizes food production while saving habitat, farmland, energy, and water.
The Smart Farm is a biological engineering project – controlled environment agriculture. We grow food year-round. We have eliminated the need for the herbicides and pesticides that commonly contaminate our groundwater, soil, and food supply. This project integrates ecology, engineering, problem-solving, math, art, literacy, alternative energy, research skills, collaboration, community involvement, critical thinking, and vital science process skills. Our design concept is a lot more efficient than we expected. We now have prototypes in three different schools and a movie production company.
The Roosevelt Engineering Club is an extension of our engineering elective classes. Our club focused on three STEM competitions this year: The Electric Car Challenge, the Science Bowl, and the KidWind Challenge. We designed electric vehicles, rockets, bridges, towers, various wind turbines, and we delivered extensive research on the pros and cons of alternative energy. We also had a lot fun along the way. We like to work hard and play hard!
Go Rams!!!
If We Win...
If we win Best in Class, we will continue to expand our innovative engineering programs. As we make the transition to a STEAM Magnet School, this couldn’t have come at a better time. Our plan is to add more STEAM electives at every grade level that further integrate the sciences, technology, engineering, art, and math. This will require additional funding for materials. We would also like to compensate our volunteers who work extra hours and weekends to make these programs possible.
SMART Farm/Engineering Club
Scholarship and Program
- The program started out as a Smart Farm which then incorporated an Engineering Club. Together this project designs electric cars, rockets, bridges, towers, vertical farms, windmills, solar energy and props for the Drama Club's play. The Smart Farm Project focuses on building and maintaining an indoor vertical farm that optimizes food production while saving energy, water, habitat and farmland.
- This biological engineering project, completely student-led, eliminates the need for fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides commonly found our food supply, groundwater, and public lands. It begins with germinating seeds to a full farm production and irrigation system.
- This collaborative STEM project integrates biology, engineering, programming, math, art, literacy, energy conservation, and community involvement.
- Students research, conceptual designing ideas and collaborate daily during class and after school to continue to enhance the Smart Farm production.
- Completely rebuilt, redesigned greenhouse into a state-of-the-art experimental greenhouse with highly efficient vertical farms designed and built by students.
- The design addresses ALL the new Earth Systems and Engineering Standards from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in core science classes, clubs, and elective classes since 2016.
- Impacted a wide range of students from learning disabled SPED classes to college credit AP students, grades 6-12.
- Received funding from UNM Engineering, Ec0Champs Award, APS Foundation (in 2017 for collaboration with SPED dept)
- Curriculum developed for UNM and RPI Engineering depts, first implemented at Manzano HS in 2016.
- Program started in 2017 – in existence for 6 years
- Student Impact – The original student impact was 170 and has grown to over 200.
- Growth and Program Model for other APS Schools and departments – This first started as a club and has grown into an elective class. This program has also expanded to two additional schools and a film company. The program provides salads to the entire school several times a year. Students have been selecting this elective starting at 6th grade and has a waiting list. The class is now offered for 6 – 8 grade.
- Sustainability – Written other grants, became a part of the school budget, and collaborates with community partners.