The School City of Hobart applied for the Hobart Redevelopment Commission Educational & Worker Training Grant for SY 2017-2018 and we were very grateful to receive the full $60,000.00 grant (across 2016 and 2017).  The grant went to support the growing Project Lead the Way programs in the school corporation, including the introduction of the PLTW Launch program providing computer science and engineering curriculum for grades K-5, and the expansion of the PLTW Gateway program bringing Apps Development, Innovators and Makers, and Computer Science Essentials to grades 6-8.  

Here is a part of our PURPOSE as it is written in the grant:

The grant will allow SCOH to bring Project Lead the Way (PLTW) programs to the elementary and middle school levels in the school system. SCOH offers some PLTW courses at the middle and high school levels. The grant would allow PLTW to be started at the elementary level, in grades 3-5, and for PLTW Computer Science courses to be added at the middle school level.

The PLTW Launch program is the name of the K-5 curriculum. This program brings a standards-aligned, project-based curriculum to students in elementary school in which students will explore a variety of topics from science, math, and computer science. Students actively complete projects in which they explore solutions to real-world problems and practice the skills that lead to careers in the engineering, bio-medical, and technology fields. The PLTW Launch modules align to Indiana’s Academic Standards for Computer Science and Science.

Bringing PLTW curriculum to the elementary level will allow students to meet Indiana’s Academic Standards while gaining essential skills in the STEM areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The program will encourage students’ curiosity, problem solving skills, and interest in these areas, including Computer Science.

The PLTW Gateway program is the name of the grade 6-8 curriculum. SCOH already offers some PLTW curriculum at the middle school level. This grant will allow the computer science curriculum to be added to the current offerings. The middle school PLTW Computer Science curriculum is divided into two levels. Level one teaches students to create an app, while level two teaches text coding, using the language Python, and creation of an app that crowdsources and analyzes data.

In order to offer these courses, SCOH will need to purchase hardware, software, curricular, and consumable materials. The full grant amount of $30,000 is requested in 2016 as well as $30,000 in 2017 to help SCOH bring PLTW computer science programming to the school children of Hobart. The actual expense will be greater than that, based on the materials lists provided by PLTW. SCOH will cover the additional expenses.

VIEW FULL GRANT APPLICATION HERE

Take a look at some of our picture reports below!

Reporting Period 2 - Camp Invention

Reporting Period 2 - PLTW Class Experience

UPDATE!

The School City of Hobart applied again for the SY 2018-2019 and received it - an additional $30,000!  Way to go team!  This additional grant opportunity will continue to expand PLTW and our Maker and Innovator movement in the school corporation, providing 3d printers at all school, expanded computer science curriculum and materials, and more opportunities throughout the school year for every student to make, innovate, and think critically.

Here is part of our PURPOSE as written in the grant:

The grant will be used to fund the purchase of tablets and VEX robotics kits to expand SCOH’s PLTW program. The PLTW Launch program is the name of the K-5 curriculum. This program brings a standards-aligned, project-based curriculum to students in elementary school in which students will explore a variety of topics from science, math, and computer science. Students actively complete projects in which they explore solutions to real-world problems and practice the skills that lead to careers in the engineering, bio-medical, and technology fields. PLTW Launch modules align to Indiana’s Academic Standards for Computer Science and Science as well as English Language Arts and Mathematics.

Expanding the PLTW curriculum at the elementary level will allow students to meet Indiana’s Academic Standards while gaining essential skills in the STEM areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The program will encourage students’ curiosity, problem solving skills, and interest in these areas, including Computer Science.

The grant will allow SCOH to expand the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) programs at the elementary school level. PLTW began at the elementary level in the 2017-2018 school year. However, in order for more classes to use the program simultaneously, more tablet devices and VEX robots are required. Currently, at our largest school, only two classrooms per grade level are able to use the program concurrently. Considering there are 5-6 classes per grade, it would be ideal for more classrooms to be able to use PLTW at the same time. PLTW is designed to be integrated as part of the curriculum rather than a separate event. PLTW includes Science and Technology, but every unit also includes English Language Arts and Math standards. However, teachers are not able to integrate modules throughout the day when they are limited by many classes sharing the same devices.

SCOH would also like to add 3D printers to complement the PLTW Launch programs in the district. Adding 3D printers to the PLTW Launch program would allow for students to see the real-world capabilities of skills they learn. For example, in the fifth-grade robotics module, students investigate different types of robots. One robot they explore is 3D printers. Giving students the opportunity to interact with and use a 3D printer would bring this material to life and enable students to see more of the amazing things made possible through STEM fields.

VIEW 2018 GRANT APPLICATION HERE