Stem Matrix has been created to provide a hands-on, inquiry-based learning and teaching model for 4th and 5th grade STEM education.
Meet Our Curriculum Advisory Team
Aaron Mueller
Brian Klaft
Elizabeth Manning
Tara Bell brings our Stem Matrix Curriculum Team, as our 'volunteer angel', 10 years of experience in Stem education throughout Illinois that includes both public school and policy experience. More recently, Tara has served the Illinois State Board of Education as a Principal Consultant while also holding a number of leadership positions for organizations serving educators. Tara brings Stem Matrix a strong commitment to access and equity in science education as well as her vast network of science educator associates.
Brian Klaft brings our Stem Matrix Curriculum Team 26 years of science teaching experience with the past 10 years having a STEM focus. A science teacher at Francis Granger middle school in Aurora, IL, Brian has served on the Indian Prairie District's science curriculum team for the past 3 years. Brian brings our team his strong passion for bringing children creative optimum learning opportunities through hands-on, inquiry based challenges that put students in control of the science process.
Beth Manning comes to Stem Matrix as a graduate of the Waukegan School District. While attending what was then Waukegan East High School, she fell in love with science and was inspired to study it in college. With over 16 years of experience in middle school science teaching, she currently chairs the middle school science department and teaches 5th grade science at the Latin School, an independent school in Chicago. Beth is also an active coach and judge for Illinois Science Olympiad, and has a wealth of science teaching, interscholastic competition, and curriculum design experience.
Aaron Mueller brings our curriculum team over 17 years of hands-on elementary school science teaching experience that has included curriculum development oversight. Aaron is a nationally recognized educator and participant in the evolving world of Next Generation Science Standards as he both attends and instructs at professional NGSS gatherings around the country. Aaron has received numerous awards and recognition and was most recently selected as a 2017 finalist for the Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for the State of Illinois, the highest honor bestowed by the US for K-12 mathematics and science teaching. Aaron brings our team a quality of leadership that greatly assists our Stem Matrix team approach to creating curriculum.
Tara Bell
Paul Kerman
Paul Kerman brings our Stem Matrix Team an imaginative science teacher icon with over thirty years of experience in teaching elementary school children in more underserved communities. Paul has made inquiry based, hands-on teaching and learning an art form that he has regularly modeled when training our Stem Matrix Classroom Teams. Paul has for many years regularly contributed to curriculum refinement and to the yearly creation of challenges for our signature end-of-year interschool competition.