Board committee backs Make 48 pilot and new middle‑school computer science course

Committee members recommended that the full board add two new course offerings: a Make 48 Innovation Experience at Beloit Memorial High School and a middle‑school course called Computer Science for Innovators and Makers.

Administrators said the Make 48 program evolved from local pilot competitions and will be offered as a for‑credit class and a pathway option beginning fall 2025. The program includes a national competition format; district staff said the program carries a $5,000 registration cost but district staff reported they are on a sponsorship list and expected corporate underwriting may eliminate that expense. Teachers and mentors—local engineers and patent attorneys who have supported prior Make 48 teams—would support student teams in a bracketed competition that could lead to televised rounds.

The proposed middle‑school course uses Project Lead The Way curriculum and is intended to be a pre‑engineering offering aligned with the district’s robotics and CNC classes; administrators said the course aims to build problem‑solving and computer‑science fundamentals and to create a pathway into the high‑school engineering sequence.

Both items were placed on the consent agenda for the full board after committee members voiced support. Committee members asked about sponsorship and articulation to high‑school credit; administrators said high‑school Project Lead The Way courses may offer end‑of‑year credentials, but the middle‑school offering is an exposure course designed to lead to those options later.

The committee’s recommendation was unanimous.