Oliphant Elementary Pupils Immersed in Coding

INDIO — Richard R. Oliphant Elementary School opened its doors to students for the first time on Aug. 23, 2018. At first glance you can tell that something special is going on at this site.

The physical structure of the campus is state-of-the-art and very innovative in nature. Classrooms are equipped with educational technology, flexible furniture, and an open design that allows for maximum collaboration across the school.

However, the look of the school isn’t the only impressive feature. Oliphant is Desert Sands Unified School District’s very first computer science immersion school. Students in transitional kindergarten all the way through fifth grade code every week at this school. The district has partnered with Code To The Future, a premiere computer science immersion solution, to offer this opportunity to students.

The school recently celebrated learning by opening their doors to the community during a showcase event. This event, known as an Epic Build Showcase, allowed parents and community members to see the culminating project after weeks of coding instruction. During this first segment of instruction all students learned about block coding using the platform of Scratch.

Parents and community members were amazed at the outcomes and learning displayed by the students. In subsequent units, students will learn to use Lego for Education tools which focus on computational thinking and engineering principals, and Minecraft Education Edition which allows students to create using block coding or JavaScript.

Although the program is in its infancy, it is already shining brightly. The staff members at Oliphant have devoted themselves to learning and growing their coding skills right alongside the students and they should be commended for their dedication and courage. It truly is amazing to see what is happening on this campus when you realize that most all of the staff had their first experience with computer science instruction early this school year.

The success of this program is due to their devotion to students and the dedicated coaching of the Code To The Future coach and DSUSD’s very own Katie Stephens, technology teacher on special assignment. Katie coaches teachers at Oliphant on a weekly basis and works tirelessly to ensure that the program runs smoothly. Katie was also recently awarded the Coachella CUE Making It Happen Award for her work with DSUSD teachers and students.

Offering computer science opportunities to our students is a top priority for DSUSD. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013), “by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer-science- related jobs available and only 400,000 computer science graduates with the skills to apply for those jobs”. Giving students a firm foundation in coding opens up a world of opportunities they might not otherwise have.