Career & Technical Education (CTE) Enrichment [Registration Required]
Summer School (Middle School)Eligible students: Rising 6th – 8th grade students
Dates: July 1 – July 19, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Sites: Ballou HS, Kelly Miller MS, Kramer MS, MacFarland MS, Sousa MS, Stuart-Hobson MS
The DCPS Career and Technical Education Enrichment Program is a fun, exciting, and engaging summer program that provides DCPS students with an introduction to courses that can lead to high demand careers. Students will be eligible to attend one of seven Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities. Please register for any of these programs using the link at the bottom of the page.
DC Can Code (MacFarland MS): Swift is an easy-to-follow programming language used by professional developers to create apps around the world. Students will enjoy learning to code with Swift Playgrounds —a free app for iPad that makes getting started with Swift code interactive and fun. Students will use iPads to prototype apps in small and large learning communities. Students will also engage with IT professionals and complete career exploration activities.
Level I Robotics (Kramer MS): During this beginner robotics course, students learn to transition from block-based coding to state-machine and text-based coding. Students will apply their knowledge of basic block coding and the engineering design process to brainstorm plans and build creative ideas while working on a project with cue coding robot. Students will learn how to program their robot to make decisions, gather complex information, and respond to its environment. After learning the robots’ capabilities students will use the engineering design process to program the robot to solve real world problems. Students will then present their solutions at the Summer Enrichment showcase at the end of the program.
Level II Robotics (MacFarland MS): During the Robotics course, students can be creative thinkers — all while having fun exploring and learning about STEM ideas and concepts through robotics! Students will apply their learning, use the Engineering process, and build teamwork and collaboration skills. This course provides students with hands-on, minds-on engagement that encourages students to design creative solutions and innovate through experimentation. In this section students will begin creating their own robots to compete in friendly competitions. Students must use their knowledge of block based coding in order to make the robot respond to external stimuli.
Advanced Robotics (Sousa MS): During this advanced course, students will engage in Robotic STEM Labs that align to educational standards. All STEM Labs contain activities that are structured around iterative, engineering design processes, real-world applications and opportunities for students to build teamwork and collaboration skills. STEM Labs provide students with hands-on, minds-on engagement that encourages students to design creative solutions and innovate through experimentation. Students will begin using the Speedbot and investigate the movement of the robot using the Drive Program on the Brain or by basic programming. Then, they will move into more complex coding scenarios using the Clawbot and finish their journey with advanced engineering using both the Clawbot and other unique builds.
Culinary Arts (Ballou HS): Students will enjoy learning to cook with celebrity Chef Shanel Howard! Each week will have a different culinary theme as students learn their way around the kitchen. Students will be engaged as they learn culinary skills, teamwork, and professionalism. Students will prepare a spread for the Summer Enrichment Showcase at the end of the program.
Hospitality (Stuart-Hobson MS): Students will explore the hospitality and tourism industry, which is one of Washington D.C.’s largest employers. Students who participate in this summer program will engage in a hands-on event planning “business”. Paired with the Culinary program, these students will get real world experience in the Hospitality/Tourism industry. Students will utilize the Hospitality/Tourism essentials learned to plan the final showcase at the end of the program.
Introduction to Gaming (Kelly Miller MS): Students will explore gaming through the use of custom JavaScript engines and the PixilArt editor to build games while learning computational thinking, 2D graphic design, and game development principles.
