Results from a recent Washington STEM poll were released, showing that 94 percent of voters in the state believe every child should have access to a high-quality STEM education.

However, only 45 percent believe schools are delivering.

Washington STEM is a statewide nonprofit organization that was launched in March 2011 with the goal to re-imagine and revitalize STEM education across the state.

At Lake Washington School District (LWSD), STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) is a priority.

Matt Manobianco, associate superintendent for LWSD, said a few years ago, the district administration asked themselves what kind of STEM-related programming they could offer students. He said this was outside of Tesla STEM High School, the district’s choice school in Redmond that opened a few years ago.

Manobianco said the district did not want to pigeonhole students and have them thinking that if they were interested in STEM, that STEM High School is not their only option.

As a result, schools throughout the district — at all grade levels — have developed STEM programs and activities for before and after school as well as in-class curriculum.

“STEM doesn’t just start in high school,” Manobianco said.

At Horace Mann Elementary School in Redmond, the PTSA has offered after-school enrichment programs for several years and has recently added a few STEM-focused programming to its curriculum.

Gretchen Connors, the after-school enrichment coordinator for the Mann PTSA, said they offer math classes for all grades and robotics and computer programming classes for students in second through fifth grade. She said math has been offered for quite a while, but the robotics and computer programming classes have been recent additions in the last couple of years.

“We felt it was important to start introducing the STEM-related programs,” she said.

Connors said it is important to start early with STEM education because it is like learning a language and the earlier students start, the better.

The students can also build on the skills they acquire through these programs. Connors added that they have had to add an advanced computer programming class for the students who have mastered the introductory class.

“It’s really cool to see how much the kids are learning from the classes,” she said.

Bob Kaneko, who teaches the technology 1 and technology 2 classes at Evergreen Middle School, agreed that it is important to teach STEM at a younger age. He said the stronger a student is at the middle school level, the stronger they will be at the high school level.

“It’s like anything,” he said. “Knowledge builds on knowledge.”

In Kaneko’s classes, which are open to all grades, students learn how to use computer applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere. He said they also learn how to create 3-D models as the school now has a 3-D printer so the students can print out their creations.

In the technology 2 class, Kaneko said students also learn the fundamentals of computer coding.

At Redmond High School (RHS), students can sign up for a STEM signature program, a multi-course offering in which students can earn graduation requirements in multiple subjects.

Myra Arnone, who teaches the science portion of the program, said RHS’s program is focused on global health and addresses health issues from around the world and prompts students to propose solutions.

They look at the bigger picture, she said, covering all aspects including health and medicine, social policy and even philanthropy.

RHS has also paired up with the University of Washington’s (UW) global health in the high school program, which brings in undergraduate seniors from the school to teach a unit or class on the topic.

Arnone said the program is a good opportunity for students who are interested in global health or medicine to get an early start on things.

“We have a few students who are thinking about medical school,” she said.