Angela DeHart is a STEM teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia who created an innovative STEM program called the STEM Impressionists. The program engages underrepresented middle and high school students in hands-on STEM activities like coding, robotics, and engineering challenges. Through the program, students develop skills, pursue STEM certifications, explore careers, and mentor younger students. The goal is to prepare students for college and careers through sustained mentoring and experiential learning in STEM.

1. Angela DeHart is a middle school FACS (Home Ec) turned STEM teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).
In addition to being nominated for FCPS Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2016 Angela was chosen as one of
eight teachers in Virginia to receive the 2017 Virginia Lottery Super Teacher Award. Angela’s innovative nature,
her steadfast dedication to continuous learning, and her passion for STEM has inspired the creation of a number
of STEM opportunities for students: a Girls Coding Club, a week of student-directed activities focused on
promoting the Hour of Code, and the creation of a STEM group called the STEM Impressionists. In the 2016-2017
school year the STEM Impressionists used their creativity and coding skills to become one of the 100 finalist in a
youth-based international problem-solving competition; they placed 1st
and 2nd
in the Robert H. Herndon
Memorial Science Competition; they traveled to Roanoke, VA to present a solution for the NASA Parachuting onto
Mars STEM Challenge, and they were invited to teach their self-created robotics curriculum to the participants of
George Mason University’s summer FOCUS STEM Camp two years in a row. Now beyond their first year of
existence the STEM Impressionists are rolling out the next phase of the STEM program – skill certification, peer-
to-peer training, college/scholarship/internship application planning, and resume documentation. Angela has
been a secondary teacher for Fairfax County for the past ten years. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Sociology
from The College of Wooster and a Master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University.
Her continuing educational seminars include Harvard’s Creative Computing, MIT’s Scratch Conference, and
Carnegie-Mellon’s Robotics Institute.
Ms. DeHart created the STEM Impressionists Program as a opportunity for underrepresented students to receive
sustained mentoring while engaging in hands-on participatory activities that develop their STEM, leadership and
entrepreneurial skills. From middle school to college students are offered opportunities that prepare them for real
world challenges in various fields. The main objectives for the program are:
Objective STEM Exploration The Cohort
#1 To ensure that the participants engage in STEM
activities that are documented and can be showcased.
Recording student engagement in STEM activities not
only gives them the ability to evidence the quality of
their knowledge/skills but offers them the opportunity
to create a resume that can be used to support their
qualifications when they are applying to colleges and
for scholarships.
To engage in training that leads to certifications in coding,
robotics, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and other career-valued STEM
skills. Upon certification students are encouraged to use their
skills to teach other students via peer-to-peer training during the
Hour of Code, at Glasgow’s summer STEM camp, at George
Mason’s summer FOCUS STEM camp, and other opportunities
that allow students to learn and then apply the 21st century skills
of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity,
planning, and self-determination (grades 10-12).
#2 To create an avenue of career exploration by
introducing students to different STEM career paths.
Providing students with an opportunity to speak to
experts in different STEM fields allows them to get a
feel as they narrow their interests. Being able to teach
STEM skills to others gives students a solid hands-on
interaction with the topic/tool as well as having a
more in-depth understanding of how the topic/tool
works.
To be leaders for the program. The STEM Impressionists is a
program that is being develop by and for the students that
participate in it. In order for the program to stay relevant
students and adult facilitators have to work together to create,
sustain, and grow the program. Student participation and
feedback are integral to that process. Students in the “Next Step”
of the program are experienced and mature enough to represent
the program at STEM seminars as well as providing leadership for
the STEM activities taking place at the middle school level
(grades 10-college).
#2 To introduce STEM to students and their peers. This
attribute affords students with the opportunity to give
back to their community, it allows them to gain
professional presentation/communication as well as
the practical hands-on skills they need to prepare
them for their 21st-century careers.
To participate in the STEM Impressionists cohort. As students
encouraged to build and record their STEM experiences so that
they can use them to facilitate their IB/MYP project, apply STEM
internships, apply for College/University scholarships and apply
to the high school (i.e. Thomas Jefferson/Edison High School) and
eventually the college/university/career of their choice. Because
the program anticipates students running into career challenges,
like the “glass ceiling” (https://goo.gl/rx6LHX) the program
incorporates a mentorship atmosphere that turns into a formal
cohort in 9th grade. The objective is for students to become their
own networking and mentorship cohort that matures with them
throughout their lifetime – giving back to students throughout
the K12 system over the course of their careers (grades 10-life).
© 2018-2019, Angela DeHart/STEM Impressionists