by Katie Drake
Just a few days before school started, I walked through the entrance to Benton Hall Academy. The empty hallways were gleaming, waiting for excited students to pour back in on their first day of school. The fresh smell of floor polish sent me right back to the age of 5. It’s crazy how much it reminded me of my elementary school days.
When I arrived at the classroom, there she was, waiting for me. She was smiling and had kicked off her shoes. Here was Tracy Young, the S.T.E.A.M. Specialist, and Engineering by Design instructor for K-5th grade students here in Little Falls.
Everything about the S.T.E.A.M classroom is fun. It’s filled with sunlight from the tall bright windows adorned with plants and creations from her students. Bins are filled with clean recyclables for the kids to use to build things. The tall ceilings give the impression the space is even larger than life. It’s a perfect place to cultivate creativity through outside-the-box thinking and learning.
According to the Institute for Advanced Study, S.T.E.A.M. Education is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.
Tracy is a teacher, and she exemplifies what all great teachers do, change people’s lives. She was one of the first to know about STEAM or Engineering by Design (EBD) before it was even a thing around here.
“I was. In my classroom, a lot of things were hands-on. I believe it’s because that’s how I learn the best. I love to tell my kids that when I was in school, I wasn’t a good student. Not naughty-wise, but academically. I did ok, but I had to put in extra effort to do well. When I was reading, I was a re-reader I had to read it twice to understand it. And that’s okay. It just took me longer than everybody else.”
“I was in my master’s program at St. Rose, and our teacher was teaching us how to do borrowing with math using matchbox cars. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ I finally understood it.’ It’s learning with your hands. When our Superintendent brought in someone from BOCES that said we have this Engineering by Design curriculum – I said I would LOVE to try it! After teaching STEAM lessons for a while, I saw how engaged the kids were and how much they loved it and urged the administration to make STEAM part of our curriculum. LF City School District had the curriculum first and then built the STEAM lab for the program.”
A great example: Often in the afternoon, I see my little neighbor, and I always make a point to ask her over the fence how her day at school was. Usually, she just says, “Good!” But one day earlier this year, she excitedly told me that she designed a snowshoe at school using only five materials and that they had to draw a picture and then build it. She went on and on and was excited and engaged about her snowshoe project. While talking with Tracy, she told me about that very same STEAM lesson as she showed me some of the student’s drawings of their snowshoes in their engineering journals.
Tracy has forged several impressive partnerships through her STEAM and EBD curriculum. She created partnerships with Herkimer College, MVCC, and Utica University, giving our Little Falls Elementary students on-campus college experiences. During her school breaks, she partners with Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts to do STEAM camps and Project Fibonacci to do Drone Camps for kids. Most impressive, Tracy Young co-teaches a class at Purdue University – the number one engineering school in the country!
Tracy grew up here in Little Falls and remains humble despite her vast accomplishments. She didn’t always want to be a teacher. “It’s funny. When I was in 10th grade, I wanted to be an interior decorator I was going to move to NYC and become a famous decorator. Now, I hate decorating anything in my house. My mom was the assistant teacher at BOCES, and she was at the church across from the YMCA. I loved to go down there and volunteer, and I just decided teaching was what I wanted to do.”
What does she love most about her job? “Gosh, I’m not sure I can narrow it down to one thing. I love to see the ‘aha’ moments that the kids have. When they figure out that they can solve a problem and work together, I want kids to say, hey, it didn’t work out here, and I failed here, but I could still solve the problem. One of my biggest goals is to show students that failure is part of learning, it’s okay to fail, and sometimes it’s how you learn best. There are different ways to get to the right answer.”
Because Tracy spent so much time at the YMCA, now the Youth and Family Center, she worked closely with Tony DeLuca. Tony said, “Tracy worked for us for years. She started as a receptionist at the Y, worked her way up to a Head Start teacher, and helped us start the Universal Pre-K program that is still running today. She is one of my greatest success stories.”
Favorite thing about Little Falls: “I’ve lived and worked here for so long that I’m one of the oldest teachers here. I have so many connections. Kids that I had early in my career, I now have their children or grandchildren in class. I’m so happy we finally have the skating rink up and running again. That was by far one of my favorite things when I was younger. My mom could drop us off, and we’d be there all night long just skating. Freezing and skating and freezing. Being at the YMCA, basketball, swimming, and the city pool. You can walk anywhere; we would pack our lunches and ride our bikes over the Wind Bridge to have lunch on Moss Island. So many great memories growing up in Little Falls.”
And as to the start of school, well, Full S.T.E.A.M. ahead. “The first day of class, I ensure my students know three things. First, I want kids to feel safe when they are here. I tell them that while they are in my classroom, I’m their grownup. Two, I want them to feel loved. I tell them I love them, and I do. Three, don’t choke – if you are eating in my class, be careful and chew your food. If I can make students feel safe and loved, then teaching them is a piece of cake.”
Katie Drake moved to Little Falls in 2003 and fell in love with this city. She says she isn’t a writer but a storyteller.
The opportunity to highlight the great people of Little Falls and share her perspectives and some humor from time to time piqued her interest, and here we are.
Just ask her, and she’ll tell you that after growing up in Millers Mills, a population of 25+ (according to the sign), Little Falls was just the right size. Katie is the oldest of her two brothers and five sisters.
In 2020 Katie and her best friend Chris began their greatest adventure with the birth of their sweet and sassy son Nolan who makes them laugh every day.
Katie loves to snowmobile, golf, hike, and travel in her free time.
If you have feedback on one of her articles or an idea for a story, please feel free to reach out to Katie at KatherineDrakeLF@gmail.com. She would love to hear from you.
If this article leaves you wanting more, or you are just bored, feel free to check out other articles she has contributed by visiting Katie Drake Archives – My Little Falls.