USD 490 PreK and Early Childhood students will soon be enjoying a new STEM curriculum thanks to the Partners in Education Foundation.
What started as a fall PIE Grant request by Blackmore STEM Lab Aide Megan Litke has grown into a district-wide enhancement for all of our early learners. The STEM curriculum is specifically designed to teach developmentally appropriate sensorimotor and preoperational skills, problem solving skills, and cognitive skills that can be applied to real world situations.
"We are very excited to have this opportunity,” Superintendent Jenifer Davis said. “This grant will allow us to expand our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) specials; these are lifelong skills that are developed at an early age.”
There are 10 monthly units that include engaging topics such as Solar System, Human Body, Insects, Animals, States of Matter, Dinosaurs and Reptiles, Agriculture, Building and Construction, Seasons and Weather, and Robotics. They all include hands-on activities, songs, yoga, and related art projects to help students explore the themes in a centers-based format.
PIE’s Development Director Rod Blackburn wrote a grant and submitted it to the Central Kansas Community Foundation’s Butler County Grant Cycle and combined that with funds from PIE’s Sara Luehrs Memorial Fund to purchase a set of the curriculum for each of USD 490’s three elementary schools.
“This is a great example of what PIE does,” Blackburn said. “We facilitate your ability to try innovative and creative ways to engage students.”
This year’s PIE Fall Grant deadline is September 29, 2023.
Partners In Education Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation established in 1989 to enhance the educational opportunities for the students of USD 490. For more information visit their web page www.pie490.org, or contact Rod Blackburn, Development Director, at rod.blackburn@pie490.org, 316-322-4800.