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Beloit district to consider Project Lead The Way middle‑school computer science elective
Summary
CTE director Jeff Stenner presented a proposed Project Lead The Way middle‑school course, Computer Science for Innovators and Makers, designed as a hands‑on pre‑engineering/computer‑science exposure course that leads to high‑school pathways in robotics and CNC; course will return next month for formal board consideration.
Jeff Stenner, director of career and technical education and alternative education, presented a new middle‑school course proposal to the School District of Beloit Board of Education on Feb. 18: Computer Science for Innovators and Makers, a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) offering intended for seventh and eighth graders.
Stenner said the course is a project‑based introduction to microcontrollers, coding for physical devices and problem solving and is designed to feed into the district’s high‑school engineering, robotics and CNC pathways. "This really is coding to get it to do something, to solve a problem," Stenner said, describing end‑of‑course student projects such as a wearable safety device, an engaging art installation or a mechanical dispenser.
Why it matters: The course is meant to expand middle‑school elective options, provide an exposure pathway into STEM and align with college‑and‑career readiness standards, K–12 computer science frameworks and Next Generation Science Standards. Stenner said PLTW training for teachers would be required and that the district is already a PLTW gateway middle school for two buildings.
Scope: Stenner estimated roughly 60 students per school could participate under current sectioning (two sections per course and the district’s existing scheduling model), with two‑ and four‑section configurations discussed for seventh and eighth grades.
Board feedback and process: Board members praised the proposal as a “stepping stone” to higher‑level courses. Superintendent Doctor Garrison said the presentation was informational; the district will return next month with the formal course proposal and a recommendation to move the course to the full board for approval.
Next steps: The administration will bring the course back at the next meeting and, if approved by the curriculum committee and board in subsequent steps, will require teacher PLTW training and curriculum adoption before classroom rollout.
