District awarded a $1.2 million grant for pilot

Bennett Elementary School is on the forefront of STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education. The Fort Lauderdale school is part of an innovative STEM program that incorporates computing skills. It adds up to a new designation, called STEM+C.

The National Science Foundation selected Broward County Public Schools to lead the pilot program. The district was awarded a $1.2 million grant to develop a model that merges computer science into elementary subjects. Bennett is one of eight BCPS participating.

Broward Schools' STEM Science Supervisor Dr. Lisa Milenkovic spearheaded the grant. She oversees the project and will coordinate with partners Code.org, Stanford University and the University of Chicago, which analyzes the results.

Before school started, teachers spent several days with Milenkovic’s team studing the new curriculum. They learned to fuse computational techniques in subjects that aren’t STEM oriented such as social studies.

For examplein amappingproblem, thirdgraders helpWandering Wanda travel across the country as she uncovers historical landmarks. Kids plan a route and gain an understanding of directions. Then they go online and write an algorithm to move Wanda from one location to another.

“It’s a high level problem for a third grader,” Milenkovic said. “They’re learning how to implement algorithms.”

As learning progresses, fifth grade students will be making their own variable functions, which combine critical thinking with computational thinking.

Bennett’s teachers are excited to be a part of the model, said assistant principal Mimi Jensen. After training, they saw that the actual learning takes place before kids apply the concepts to the computer.

“They thought it was a great idea to get students to start thinking along the lines of problem solving,” Jensen said.

Bennett principal Chris Carney said most of the students are comfortable with technology. Some are already coding.

“All our fifth graders have a personal laptop in class,” Carney said. It’s a tool they use like a pencil, he