Solano Co. Schools Receive $1.8 Million To Boost STEM Studies

News from the Solano County Office of Education:

The Solano County Office of Education announced that it has received $1.8 million to enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education through a partnership with the UC Davis C-STEM (Computing-STEM) Center to provide professional development over the next three years for 60-75 teachers in Solano and Contra Costa Counties.

The grant, awarded by the California Department of Education through the California Math and Science Partnership (CaMSP) program, will be used to provide teachers in grades 5-12 who teach Mathematics, Science, or Math-based Career Technical Education classes, with additional instructional strategies to increase student engagement and achievement.

The professional development project will enable classroom teachers to integrate computer programming and robotics instruction to develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills and help students make meaningful connections between STEM topics and their relevance to real life applications.

“SCOE is honored to partner with UC Davis to enhance the hands-on learning of our students especially in the areas of computing and robotics. Teachers will be given the tools to ensure that our students are prepared to meet the demands of our community for a skilled workforce,” noted Jay Speck, Solano County Superintendent of Schools.

Through its work with educators, the C-STEM Center has created project-based computing and robotics activities, integrated curriculum and hands-on personalized and collaborative learning strategies aligned with the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics and CTE standards.

Over 60 teachers throughout Solano County school districts, and Contra Costa County’s San Ramon Valley Unified School District (USD), will be participating in the 10-day collaborative training program, which begins this summer at SCOE.

The participating teachers will be joined by mentor teachers from Sacramento City USD, Elk Grove USD and several Placer County school districts who are currently involved in the previous year’s iteration of this grant. The goal is to further develop the professional development program for implementation throughout the state.

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