Amanda Stanko (right), a STEM teacher (science, technology, engineering, and math) with Corpus Christi Catholic School in Bloomington, was recently selected as the 2024 Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) Teacher of the Year. Stanko, who teaches pre-K and elementary, celebrated her recognition with principal Adrienne Wilson. The Catholic Post / Paul Thomas Moore

BLOOMINGTON – Amanda Stanko, who teaches at Corpus Christi School in Bloomington, was recently selected as the 2024 Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) Teacher of the Year. Stanko teaches STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), to pre-K and elementary school students.

Speaking with some fourth-grade students taught by Stanko, it quickly becomes clear why the honor is well-deserved.

“She tells you all the cool stuff behind science, and then she’ll give you a project,” said Nora Bellas. Classmate Kalena Bischoff agreed, “I love all the projects that we do . . . how we talk about it first, and I love how everybody helps each other out.”

Hadley Portugal, in grade four at Corpus Christi in Bloomington, explains her drawing of STEM teacher Amanda Stanko. “Last year we got to do ‘Big Heads’ (big head, small body). We got to choose our favorite teacher, and I chose her.” The drawing adorns the wall of Stanko’s classroom. The Catholic Post / Paul Thomas Moore

One of the projects Stanko involved students with is a “Giving Garden” to support the school cafeteria and local St. Vincent de Paul food bank. “It’s something I had always wanted to do,” said Stanko, “and this position has given me the opportunity to create it with my students.”

The garden is part of a broader agricultural awareness that Stanko seeks to make available to her students. She noted that despite living in the number one corn-growing county in the U.S., “surprisingly in McLean County, there are a lot of students who don’t come from an ag background.”

She felt the opportunity to celebrate the agricultural character of the region dovetailed nicely with the requirements of the STEM curriculum. “STEM and agriculture just fit really seamlessly together, because they revolve around the same principles – creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, real-world skills, inquiry-based learning,” she explained.

The learning opportunities extend well beyond the classroom, Stanko said. “It fits really well in a Catholic school to talk about the stewardship of the land . . . and taking care of one another, taking care of your neighbor.” That community connection was a big part of Stanko’s motivation behind creating the Giving Garden.

“Not only was it going to teach certain aspects of agriculture that the state wants – parts of a plant, plant life cycles, pollination, but then we could take it a step further and recognize the need that St. Vincent de Paul has in our town for food scarcity, for food poverty.” She felt it was particularly important for older students to realize that “what we’re doing here actually matters so much more than just growing fruits and vegetables.”

She told the students that if they helped her harvest the produce, they could come along on delivery runs to St. Vincent de Paul. “Sometimes we would drop it off as the line was forming, and they actually saw . . . people in that line. There was one student, I‘ll never forget, who started crying,” she recalled.

“And I thought, at sixth grade, to have that imprint on him, it’s never going to be more meaningful.”

Corpus Christi principal Adrienne Wilson observed that Stanko teaches “skills that these kids are going to need to be successful adults, but more importantly, to be examples of Christ to others.”

Back with the fourth grade STEM class, student James Mitchell commented, “When we mess up, she always just tells us, just keep persevering.” He added, “What’s nice is that she’s someone we can look up to.”

Grade four Corpus Christi students (from left), Kalena Bischoff, James Mitchell and Joey Michel say they particularly enjoy STEM teacher Amanda Stanko’s class. “I love all the projects that we do . . . how we talk about it first, and I love how everybody helps each other out,” said Bischoff. The Catholic Post / Paul Thomas Moore

For her part, Stanko is deeply honored by the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) Teacher of the Year recognition. Still, the affirmation she cherishes most come from her students. “To hear a student say, ‘I love your class – is it our turn to come to your class today?’ that means more than anything.”

By staying connected with Christ as the “true vine” (John 15:1), and the root of the STEM that she teaches, Amanda Stanko is helping to bear much fruit in the lives of her students.

“That’s why we’re a Catholic school; that’s why we’re here,” she said.