December 8, 2015

Steps to Success Grant Update

Steps to Success Grant Update

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Steps to Success (STS) is a comprehensive achievement program for students from low-income families, most of whom live in Brookline’s public housing. Each year STS serves approximately 300 young people in Grades 4-12 and, through their College Success Initiative, they serve an additional 80+ students in college or other post-secondary programs. STS received a $33,282 discretionary grant from the MLSC during the 2015 fiscal year. The grant is allowing STS to integrate STEM learning into its program model.

STS is implementing STEM programming through LEGO which offers learning products and curricula designed to increase opportunities for students to creatively pique their interest, practice in, and master math, science, engineering and technology skills. STS used the MLSC grant to , as well as technology and personnel costs associated with program implementation.

Specifically, STS used the MLSC grant to:

  • Fund professional development training in LEGO robotics with the help of DeiLab and personnel costs related to teaching/implementing Lego Robotics Curriculum.
  • Purchase Lego Mindstorms EV3 core classroom sets & materials to accommodate up to 32 students at a time.
  • 32 HP Notebooks to run associated Lego software and two carts to store laptops

Students engaged in the Lego Robotics enrichment class at 6 STS after school programs, across 4 different schools in Brookline, during the 2014-15 school year. At each program, the curriculum ran for twelve  one-and-a-half hour sessions. Students worked in small groups to code and program their robots to perform various tasks such as moving a square, stopping and starting, even kicking a tennis ball into the “goal”

Outcomes:

  • 12 STS After School staff members participated in 8 hours of Lego Robotics training through DeiLab
  • 97 students in 5th-8th grade participated in Lego Robotics enrichments after school in 2014-2015.
  • Over 98% of participating students successfully achieved unit objectives: building and programming their robots to complete a variety of assigned tasks.