While it may be a common misconception that complex scientific concepts should be reserved for older students, one educator at Shawnee Elementary is helping Xenia Community Schools turn that idea on its head, proving that our youngest learners are more than capable of thinking like future aerospace engineers.

Because of her approach to early childhood education, Stacia Gonzalez has officially been named Ohio’s Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) STEM Teacher of the Year.

The prestigious award recognizes educators who go above and beyond to prepare the next generation for a technologically advanced world. For Mrs. Gonzalez, that preparation begins on day one of kindergarten, which she sees as the perfect launchpad for critical thinking. 

Her classroom operates on a simple but powerful philosophy that the best way to foster creative problem-solvers who can collaborate to tackle real-world challenges is by immersing young students in the engineering design process as early as possible. By blending imagination with structured scientific inquiry, she is building a lifelong foundation for curiosity, innovation, and resilience.

How exactly do five- and six-year-olds engage with high-level STEM concepts? Mrs. Gonzalez achieves this by anchoring abstract ideas to things children already love, using familiar stories and hands-on projects that make tackling complicated concepts more accessible.

Over the course of the school year, her kindergarten students tackled an impressive array of advanced challenges, including:

• 3D Modeling & Robotics: Moving far beyond simple building blocks, her students learned the basics of coding using LEGO Spike Essential kits and even tried their hands at digital design using Tinkercad.
• Fairy Tale Engineering: Students brought classic stories to life and turned them into structural engineering challenges by building wind-resistant homes to protect the Three Little Pigs and designing sturdy bridges to help the Gingerbread Man safely cross the river.
• Physical Science: The class explored the invisible forces of the universe by constructing functional simple circuits and experimenting with magnetic fields.

While her students are learning the mechanics of robotics or the physics of magnetism, they are also developing crucial soft skills. Through trial, error, and teamwork, these young learners are developing perseverance when a design fails, practicing empathy when working with peers to solve a problem, and growing the creative confidence required to innovate.

Mrs. Gonzalez's dedication and creativity ensures that our youngest students are not just consumers of technology, but the future creators, builders, and leaders who will shape tomorrow.

Congratulations, Mrs. Gonzalez, on being named Ohio’s AFA STEM Teacher of the Year!

See more about her work in a video from Shawnee’s Kindergarten STEM day on May 26, 2026: