Caldwell County Schools is one of 13 school districts from across the state to be awarded grant funding under the state’s recent Digital Learning Initiative (DLI) in support of the development and dissemination of local innovative digital learning models.

“We are very excited to see that Caldwell County Schools is taking STEM and literacy and putting them together to get students really excited,” said NC Department of Instruction Digital Learning Initiative Consultant Dr. Ashley McBride, as she expressed additional congratulations to the Board of Education at is October business meeting.

Caldwell County Schools will pilot a remediation literacy program by implementing Lego Robotics with the intent of increasing STEM activities and literacy skills in grades 3-5.

“The pilot program, Building Literacy with Legos, will bring hands-on learning to students who typically do not get the opportunity to participate in STEM related activities,” said Amy Philyaw, STEM Director and grant writer.

The lessons, which will incorporate both a literacy component and a STEM component, are aligned to the NC English Language Arts Standard Course of Study and NC Reading Literacy competencies for elementary grade levels 3, 4, and 5.

The State Board of Education approved an increase in the DLI Impact Grant funding amounts, and Caldwell County Schools will receive $95K each year for the next three years. The funds are allotted for technology software and hardware, professional development, and operational costs.

Starting this fall, the Building Literacy with Legos program will be piloted at three elementary schools in the district where teachers begin training on lesson plans to strengthen reading comprehension and STEM in third and fourth grade classrooms.

The goal of the grant program is to have effective digital learning practices spread across all North Carolina K-12 public schools.