Clovis Unified’s Copper Hills Elementary School recently received at $2,000 STEM grant from the Toshiba America Foundation. Announced by CUSD, this new grant will support a “cross-collaborative learning project between general and special ed students involving 3D design.”
The new project is called “3D GATE Collaboration Serving Special Ed: Building Language Skills Through Tactile Analysis and Peer Teaching.” It is intended to help sixth-grade students understand concepts and functions of 3D online design tools and how they lead to quality 3D prints. The students will receive opportunities to print projects and then share them with CUSD’s Special Education Department.
Students in the Special Education Department will have the chance to engage with and explore science-rich language through analysis of the projects that were designed by their sixth-grade peers.
CUSD Instructional Technology Coach Melissa Culver said about the project, “This project has the potential to impact students for a lifetime…Building curiosity and possibility in the minds of small children could empower them to seek careers that utilize the skills housed in these STEM lessons.”
Copper Hills Principal Todd Deck also spoke about the project: “Copper Hills is thrilled to have this opportunity in the area of STEM education for our students. We look forward to the positive impact this grant will have on our students.”
The Toshiba America Foundation grants the fund the ideas and materials teachers need to innovate their STEM classrooms. According to Toshiba’s website, “Toshiba America Foundation believes science and mathematics are exciting fields in which all students can succeed with the proper tools and instruction.”