Immaculata University Student Wins Innovative Teaching Award

“Find something that needs to be changed in your place of employment—and change it” were the instructions given to Melissa Boonie, an Ed.D. student at Immaculata University and a gifted education teacher in Pennsylvania’s Midd-West School District.

With this challenge in mind, Boonie launched her district’s Middle School STEAM Day in 2023. The event was such a success that many involved wanted it to continue.

Encouraged by her principal, Boonie applied for and received an Innovative Teaching Grant from the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) to expand the program. Her initiative, Mustang STEAM Day 2024, was one of just four projects across the state to be awarded the grant.

Boonie describes STEAM Day as a hands-on learning experience where middle school students engage in activities focused on science, technology, engineering, art and math. She discovered that STEAM Day was the perfect challenge not only for her middle school students but also for her as part of an assignment for her Organizational Development and Change Theory class at Immaculata.

“Our first STEAM Day was themed around Santa’s workshop, and each station featured a different toy-related STEAM activity, with students acting as toy testers,” Boonie shared. The event brought together 114 sixth- and seventh-graders, alongside 50 high school leaders, to build computers using the Piper computer kit—a project that combines Raspberry Pi technology with coding, in a Minecraft-like environment. The students applied what they learned to practical applications—just like Boonie was doing at Immaculata.

Mark Hammons, Ed.D., assistant dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research, noted that Immaculata’s Ed.D. program is grounded in the scholar-practitioner model, emphasizing the real-world application of knowledge and theory. “Melissa exemplifies how our students apply what they learn in their classroom to create a positive impact in their school communities,” he said.

Boonie’s decision to pursue her doctorate came with the realization that her two sons would soon be graduating from college and her husband would retire. At the suggestion of Immaculata alumnus and adjunct faculty member Dane Aucker ’21, Boonie enrolled in the Ed.D. program in educational leadership and is on track to complete her degree in 2027. She attends weekly in-person classes with a cohort that includes area superintendents, an experience she says has enriched her professional growth.

“My classmates and I all made a pact at the very beginning of our Immaculata journey: ‘No one drops out.’ We began with seven in our cohort, and we are just six classes from dissertation,” she points out.

For now, though, Boonie is enjoying the recognition she has received in 2024. In addition to the STEAM Day grant, she received the 2024 Lauretta Woodson Award from the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees for her exceptional service and dedication to Midd-West Middle School.

“We are so proud of Melissa for her recognition by the PSEA and for turning her vision of Mustang STEAM Day into a reality,” said Hammons.

Pictured in photo L to R: Anthony DeRosa, Diane Matt-Fosnot, Melissa Boonie, Meredith Recek and Amy Lightner, chair of PSEA’s Council on Instruction and Professional Development.
Photo credit: Terry Boonie