STEM News: NextWave STEM Partners with Palm Springs Unified School District

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NextWave STEM Partners with Palm Springs Unified School District Increasing STEM Opportunities

Emerging Technologies 3D Modeling, 3D Printing and Coding Drones to Inspire Further Interest in STEM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2021

Palm Springs, California - NextWave STEM, a TechEd company specializing in STEM education, announces partnership with Palm Springs Unified School District, or PSUSD, one of three public education governing bodies in the Coachella Valley desert region of Southern California, to provide standards-supported, award-winning STEM curricula and resources for students and teachers in grades K-12. The initial programs will be offered to 6th-8th grade students at Painted Hills Middle School and Nellie N. Coffman Middle School in 3D development and drones during the spring and fall terms of 2021.

“Research shows that early exposure to STEM has a positive impact across the entire spectrum of learning,” explained Udit Agarwal, Program Director at NextWave STEM. “Our Intermediate Learners Program gives middle-school students a chance to explore and analyze the uses and effectiveness of emerging technologies in the real world. Our programs are inclusive and culturally relevant giving each and every student an opportunity to picture what it would be like to work in a STEM-related field. These fields are growing faster than any other and pay 26% more on average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.”

NextWave STEM’s all-in-one solution offers instructor training, award-winning curriculum, and classroom-ready equipment. Educators from adopting districts receive instructor training on the curriculum and corresponding equipment and technology applications. Curriculum is aligned to standards including the NGSS Grade Band Engineering Technology Standards, Common Core Math and ELA as they relate to the NGSS ETS standards, and ISTE, CSTA and 21st Century Skills standards related to emerging technologies and STEM.

“Palm Springs has always been a leader in bringing innovative, quality educational experiences to students. NextWave STEM is the perfect partner in helping us fulfill this mission,” stated Eduardo Rivera, Instructional Technology TOSA for the Palm Springs Unified School District. “Not only do they provide the curricula and equipment, their instructor training gives our teachers the confidence to master and teach high-demand skills that will open up a world of opportunity to our students now and in the future.”

Students taking NextWave STEM programming learn 21st Century Skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communications, and collaboration, as well as course-specific skills such as how to operate different emerging technologies and troubleshoot, block coding, mechanical construction, 3D modeling, 3D design, 3D printing, python coding, GitHub navigation, and more. Subject topics covered include physical science, earth science, engineering design, robotics and coding, math connection, technology, English language arts connections, life science, and art.

About Palm Springs Unified School District, PSUSD

The Palm Springs Unified School District, or PSUSD, is one of three public education governing bodies in the Coachella Valley desert region of Southern California. PSUSD governs the western half of the valley; the Coachella Valley Unified School District and Desert Sands Unified School District oversee communities in the eastern half. Administrative offices are located in Palm Springs. The PSUSD was established in 1958 from the Palm Springs Public Schools, later included Palm Springs High School in the 1960s.

About NextWave STEM

NextWave STEM, a TechEd company provides standards-supported, digital STEM curricula and resources for K-12 teachers and classrooms for both in class instruction and remote learning. NextWave STEM is a comprehensive solution for STEM education that includes project-based curriculum with corresponding course kits, and training and on-going support for the instructors/educators. The NextWave STEM curriculum supports students in mastering the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and the Next Generation Science Standards and fosters 21st Century Skills. #NextWaveSTEM @NextWaveSTEM