Grant brings pre-engineering to Burnet elementary classes

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

BURNET — In the fall, Burnet Consolidated Independent School District kicked off its new pre-engineering program for middle school and high school students. The idea was to get students involved in science, technology, engineering and math studies.

“The program has been very, very successful,” said Jim Connor, BCISD’s director of secondary curriculum. “I can’t tell you how many parents have told me that they are so happy with this program because their children found their niche.”

But BCISD leaders realized one thing about the pre-engineering program: Getting middle school students interested in the program wasn’t that easy. Connor explained many youth have a pre-conceived notion about what the pre-engineering program is and that it’s not “cool.”

So district officials began to look at ways to show students how exciting and interesting STEM and pre-engineering programs are and what they offer.

The goal was to expand pre-engineering to the elementary level, something BCISD leaders planned on doing at some time but found themselves limited by costs.

“With a program like this, it’s the up-front cost that’s the biggest issue,” Connor said.

Enter the KDK Harman Foundation. The foundation recently awarded BCISD with a $63,000 grant to extend the pre-engineering program to the fourth and fifth grades.

“What this does it allows us to build a pool of students interested in pre-engineering,” Connor said.

BCISD will implement the Project Lead the Way program designed for those grade levels. PLTW is what the district already uses at the upper levels, so it’s a natural fit.

Connor said about 27 districts across the nation launched the PLTW at the elementary level last year. Most of those districts target gifted and talented students for the pre-engineering program.

BCISD is going a different route.

“We’re going to open it to all our fourth- and fifth-graders,” he said.

Teachers will substitute a PLTW lesson for a science class once a week. In the PLTW programs, students will get a “problem” that they will then solve over about a six-week period using STEM methods and a hands-on project. The pre-engineering and PLTW programs stress the importance of students tackling a problem and project from a multitude of ways with hands-on learning one of the most important.

STEM and educational experts agree that one of the best ways to engage students is through hands-on learning.

Connor said the KDK Harman Foundation grant will allow BCISD to reach younger students and introduce them to the wonders of STEM and pre-engineering.

“It’s just a great opportunity for our students and our district,” he added.

Go to www.burnet.txed.net and www.pltw.org for more information on the program.

daniel@thepicayune.com