Barrington 220’s Elementary STEM program engages students in collaborative problem solving through engineering design and robotic challenges. It begins in kindergarten when students receive an introduction to engineering and programming, and culminates in fifth grade with a civics and innovation experience.
Our mission is to empower our learners to become innovative designers, knowledge constructors, global collaborators, and digital citizens.
Our STEM program is unique from other school districts in that each Barrington 220 elementary school has a dedicated STEM teacher. In addition, thanks to a $147 million referendum that the community passed in March 2020, by the end of the 2023-24 school year, all Barrington 220 elementary schools will have a dedicated STEM lab inside their buildings. The grade level STEM sequence is as follows:
- Kindergarten: Introduction to Engineering and Programming
- First Grade: Introduction to Engineering and Robotics
- Second Grade: Design Thinking, Programming and Robotics
- Third Grade: Reflective Decision Making and the Engineering Design Process
- Fourth Grade: Computational Thinking and Technology
- Fifth Grade: Civics and Innovation
Special thanks to the Barrington 220 Educational Foundation for its support of the program since it was created during the 2015-16 school year!
FAQs
- What does STEM stand for?
- What is STEM education and why is it important for kids?
- Which cognitive competencies does the STEM program help develop in students?
- What are some of the elementary STEM program experiences?