This fall, the board of the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation (BPS Foundation) set a $100,000 funding target to support Elementary STEM.
Over the past two years, the BPS Foundation has awarded the District over $200,000 to support Phase I and II of the District’s Project Lead the Way Launch Elementary STEM curriculum. These funds allowed the District to expand its STEM curriculum into all K-5 classrooms. The Foundation was able to accomplish this through the generosity of our community, from individual donors to community partners like ABB and Truity Education Foundation, plus several grants from the Bartlesville Community Foundation. ConocoPhillips and Arvest also served as key contributors to the initiative.
Phase I of the program, implemented last fall, brought computer science modules into the classrooms. Phase II, being implemented now, consists of engineering and biomedical modules. Two more phases will be implementation in the fall of 2019 and 2020, respectively. These phases involve modules that blend computer science, engineering, and biomedical components.
The funds raised this year will cover most of the costs to fund the remaining two phases of the program.
“We look forward to working with our stakeholders in the community to reach this goal,” stated BPS Foundation Executive Director Blair Ellis. “We encourage local businesses and individuals to join us in our efforts to support one of our District’s top funding priorities.” To contribute, donors can contact Blair Ellis at 918-336-8600, ext 3523 or give online through the BPS Foundation’s website.