Macdonough Elementary Teaching Only STEM Next Year Starting next school year, an elementary school in Middletown, Conn. will exclusively teach science, technology, engineering and math-related material to prepare students for the high-tech new Beman Middle School. by Cassandra Day, The Middletown Press, Conn. / April 16, 2021 Shutterstock (TNS) — Next academic year, Macdonough Elementary School will be the only institution in the district to move to an entirely STEM-based system for students in kindergarten through the fifth grade. The goal of the program, in the works for three years, is to invest in the city's youngest learners to prepare them for the rigors of the new state-of-the-art, technologically advanced Beman Middle School — and beyond.