Award Years: 2021-2024

STEM For Life

Community School District 5 (CSD5) is located in Central Harlem within New York City.  CSD5 serves 9,928 students in 23 schools. Seven schools in CSD 5 are identified as in need of Comprehensive or Targeted Support and Improvement, will be prioritized for participation in this grant cycle alongside two non-public school partners.  Eighty five percent (85%) of students within the District live in poverty, 39% of students are Latino and 46% of children are Black. Eight percent (8%) of students in the District are English Language Learners and are from families of recent immigrants. Twenty-five (25%) percent of students require additional supports as dictated by their Individual Educational Plans and are entitled to special education services.  

Despite the challenges faced during the pandemic, District administrators and educators have worked to create learning experiences that promote culturally and linguistically responsive learning environments for all students using educational technology to foster excellence and equity for all.  We believe with the right tools and systems in place, in partnership with school families and communities, all students can reach their fullest potential.  Through the 2021-24 Learning Technology Grant, Community School District 5 will continue the work of our 2018-2021 Learning Technology Grant (LTG) to support teachers to participate in professional learning communities to develop and increase access to high-quality, rigorous learning experiences in classrooms through on-site, online and/or blended learning.

A focus of our work is fostering inventive thinking and problem solving through engineering. Engineering is particularly suited to fostering students’ ability to apply cross curricular knowledge and skills (e.g. math, science, computer science) to think critically and solve problems. Inventive thinkers are adaptable, can manage complexity, and are self-directed, curious, creative, risk takers. Through the 2018-2021 LTG, our educators worked to bring “Gears of Fury,” a foundational engineering program, to our schools and to collaborate to develop an advanced engineering curriculum “City of Fury”.   City of Fury aligns to NYSED and NYC science, math and technology standards and includes activities developed by our parents seeking solutions for structural and environmental issues they identified in their own community.

Through the 2021-2024 LTG entitled STEM For Life, a professional learning community (PLC) will be formed to develop new foundational pre-engineering projects, lessons, activities for grades K-3 while simultaneously implementing “City of Fury'' in our grades 4-6 classrooms. 

Expected outcomes by the end of Year 3 are:

• The K-3 pre-engineering projects, lessons and activities are executed in new classrooms and made available on LTG website for usage by all NYS Districts. 

• Grades 4-6 teachers will be provided with beginning or advanced professional development in implementing the “City of Fury'' curriculum in their classrooms based on individual needs.  

• Grades K-3 teachers will be provided with beginning or advanced professional development in implementing the K-3 pre-engineering projects, lessons and activities in their classrooms.   

• Additional resources that students and families can access remotely, in online clubs and in homes, will be created.

• Continuous and varied opportunities to participate in engineering activities in and out of classrooms in a K-6 continuum will increase student STEM-literacy and identification with STEM careers.