The Willie J. Williams Sixth Grade Choir performed during the White Coat Ceremony Sept. 27. The performance was a warm-up for the choir’s upcoming fall concert at Withers Auditorium on Oct. 6.

MOULTRIE – Willie J Williams Middle School cloaked 100 students into its STEM program during a White Coat Ceremony Tuesday night at the Colquitt County Arts Center.

The program focuses on strengthening student’s skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through hands-on experiences that wouldn’t be implemented in the normal school day.

Students are selected based on their application, teacher recommendations, Georgia Milestone Scores and the interview process. The top 90 to 100 candidates are selected for the program.

This year marks the program’s third year of seminar and its second year hosting the event with 95 sixth-graders and five seventh graders receiving their white coats.

“Whenever we can find a connection for all subject areas to be driven by those four areas we do. These kids get to do some awesome things. We have a student fair coming up in February that they’re going to be working on for the next few months. They’re problem solving and building prototypes for solving problems. They also get to participate in coding and building robots,” according to Elizabeth Barbar, a sixth-grade STEM Math teacher.

After a brief welcome from Superintendent Ben Wiggins, the audience was treated to a performance from WJW’s Sixth Grade Choir. The performance was a warm-up for the choir’s upcoming Fall Concert at Withers Auditorium on Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m.

“The White Coat Ceremony is designed as a rite of passage to emphasize the importance of compassion for professionals in the STEM field. In addition to reciting the oath, students come forward during the ceremony to be ‘cloaked’ before family and friends in the iconic white coat that signifies their status as STEM students committed to the study of STEM,” Barbar said.

Executive Director of Secondary Curriculum Allen Edwards completed the presentation with the white coast roll call.

He said the district is preparing students to be leaders for jobs that do not currently exist, and it’s important to prepare students for the STEM fields at a young age.

Through STEM, the students will gain the ability to think critically, work as a member of a team and independently, and be creative.

Parents and families heard students recite the STEM oath: “We promise to galvanize a new generation of great minds to explore STEM and become confident STEM leaders. Together; we will transform the STEM workforce and advance our community and the world.”

Board of Education member Trudie Hill of District 1 was also in attendance during the ceremony.

WJW students can apply to the STEM program next spring or summer. Interested parents and students should notify their teacher to learn more information.