Altitude Elementary utilizes foundation funding in first year
The Cherry Creek Schools Foundation is always looking to invest in the success of students within the Cherry Creek School District. In a world full of new technology and innovation, we were privileged to have a part in funding creative new programs that the district's newest elementary school, Altitude, could use to nurture and grow the minds of its young students.
Altitude Elementary Principal Scott Schleich said, "I can't be happier with how things turned out, and the experiences we were able to offer our kids this year. It was really awesome."
One of the tools students were able to incorporate into their curriculum were Dash and Dot robots. These robots and age-appropriate apps “encourage hands-on play and learning to make creative problem-solving concreate and tangible.”
Dash and Dot robotics were given to Altitude Elementary through an Educator Initiative Grant funded by the Cherry Creek Schools Foundation. The foundation offers individual classroom teachers or teams within the school district the opportunity to apply for EIGs, which are designed to encourage, facilitate, recognize and reward innovative and creative instructional approaches used in accomplishing program objectives.
What originally started as an EIG blossomed into a district-wide initiative to incorporate the robots throughout elementary schools within the district, funded jointly by the foundation and Cherry Creek School District.
Ryan Remien, the STEAM Coordinator at Altitude Elementary School said, “They basically come and have this hands-on approach to learning where they really get to dive into where they are within the Launch Cycle.”
The foundation also had a hand in funding the facilitator that created the Launch Cycle for all schools in the district. It is a learning model where students can explore the process of design in steps and through brainstorming, problem solving and communicating create something inspiring.
For more on the Launch Cycle click here.
“Elementary students are pretty astonishing,” said Remien. “Every year that we’re teaching we realize more and more how incredibly brilliant our kids are. They’re naturally inquisitive, they naturally want to explore.”
The foundation is providing the tools which allow kids to explore and expand their minds through EIG funding. Another EIG the foundation funded that sparked creative thinking was a vacuum pump as part of the Mission to Mars program by Remien.
The object of the program was to help 4th graders understand the rigors of travel and working in unique atmospheres. The vacuum pump and bell jar that the CCSD Foundation funded through the EIG helped simulate varying levels of oxygen in mirco-experiments.
For more on the Mission to Mars click here.
The foundation seeks to impact every student within Cherry Creek Schools and provide them with opportunities to learn in innovative, new ways that could not otherwise be funded by the district.
