Members of the Southwest-Southern Region Management Development Program worked on two projects at R.B. Wright Elementary School.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — R.B Wright Elementary School has teamed up with the Southwest-Southern Region Management Development Program to work with students who are part of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) initiative at the school.

The Management Development Program is a 20-day professional development program constructed to provide managers with the skill-set to combine strong leadership with solid management and teach them how to use such skills.

Members are to complete a community project showing core leadership skills and managerial skills.

The first step in the program is to identify a need and they found it in R.B. Wright’s STEAM initiative.

They assisted students with two projects. The first project, a pollinator garden that will be used to increase pollinators and to help increase students’ knowledge about plants, was completed in May. The program’s members decided on the project after a field trip and learning the importance of pollinators.

The second project is an outdoor classroom, and the benefits of it include students being more physically active and initiating their own learning. The outdoor classroom will be able to hold 25 to 30 students with a touch and feel garden, sundial, compost pile, root garden, and water barrels.

Summer Hall, principal of R.B. Wright Elementary, said working with the program has helped the students in many ways.

“I think the most important part is that we are engaging and empowering students,” she said. “Working with the program has improved their ability to work with others and their communication skills.”

Due to their work, the Colquitt County school district was awarded the Literacy for Learning, Living and Leading in Georgia grant by the Georgia Department of Education, which is over $2 million split with 37 other school districts.