OPELOUSAS, La. - Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) Program has selected Arnaudville Middle School to participate in the program. This program is a comprehensive childhood-to-career program to inspire, educate, and train children and young adults from underserved schools and communities to pursue careers in computer science. Amazon Future Engineer offers qualified middle schools access to exploratory computer science classes through Project STEM, according to a spokesperson for the St. Landry Parish School Board. Schools selected for this program will receive these courses, dedicated implementation and ongoing support at no cost.
Lisa Pastorick, the 7th and 8th-grade science and enrichment teacher and administrative assistant at Arnaudville Middle was looking for something extra for students to become involved in that would open the door to STEM-related careers and expose her students to new ideas. She received an email from her principal, Mary Miller, asking her to further research the Amazon Future Engineer Program after she was contacted by one of the program representatives. After submitting the application in early January, a representative for the AFE program contacted her on January 13, 2021, to conduct a product demonstration and phone interview.
“The entire application process was very streamlined, and we received word of our acceptance on January 25th, so thankfully, we didn’t have long to wait for the announcement and can begin planning," said Pastorick. "I’m excited about offering this innovative program to our students and the opportunities it could afford them.”
Arnaudville Middle was accepted to participate in the initial pilot which will begin in the 2021-2022 school year. The program will be offered as an elective to Pastorick’s seventh and eighth-grade students, granting them access to a high-quality curriculum that is centered around Scratch computer programming/coding. Additionally, it will help students develop essential 21st-century skills while having an opportunity to earn a Carnegie unit upon successful completion.
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