Walter Bracken STEAM Academy - Christensen Institute : Christensen Institute

Submitted by Katie Decker
Note: The information in this profile represents SY2012-13 unless otherwise indicated.

School Overview

Name	Walter Bracken STEAM Academy
School type	Public
District	Clark County School District
Location	Las Vegas, Nevada
Community type	Urban
Grades served	K-5
Enrollment	562
% FRL	60%
% Black or Hispanic	65%
Per-pupil funding	$8,044 (Clark County School District)
Test scores	SY2012-13

School Description

Walter Bracken STEAM Academy is a district school in Las Vegas, Nev. that was recently named a Blue Ribbon Exemplary School by the U.S. Department of Education. It is part of the Nevada Empowerment Schools Program in Nevada which gives it the autonomy to change and create its own curriculum. Students discover and create their own projects based on their interests and work on projects prepared by their teachers. Technology serves as the backbone of their learning as they learn material and apply it to their projects.

Blended Learning Program

Focus	General
Year launched	SY2011-12
Enrollment	562
Blended grades	K-5
Blended subjects	Math, English Language Arts, History/Social Studies, Electives
Hardware	Tablets: OS X
Curriculum products	ThinkCentral, Study Island, Gizmos, Mathletics, IXL Learning, Orchard Now, Reading Eggs
Student information systems	Not available
Learning management systems	Pear Deck
Grading products	Infinite Campus
Assessment products	STAR Reading, STAR Math
Data systems	Not available
Professional development products	Not available

Program Model

Program Model: Flex

Model Description
Walter Bracken STEAM Academy focuses on giving students real-world experiences and projects. In order to learn the material to complete these projects, students are given time each day to move through online material at their own pace using iPads. In addition, students are given online homework assignments to complete outside of school time and can access the computer labs and tutors both before and after school. Teachers track student success and can pull students aside for small-group instruction based on their needs.

Program Description

Hardware analysis
Pros: iPads don’t break often and are easy to repair.

Cons: Teachers must monitor students’ activity on iPads a lot.

Software analysis
Pros: It is great to have a variety of different programs because they all have different strengths. Every child responds differently to each program and they can choose which program they want to use.

Cons: Many of these programs are expensive. Also, many of these programs do not align with each other.

Physical space
Backpack hooks are outside. Bookbins are placed off to the side. Students can study anywhere in the classroom or go outside and study in the garden where there is artificial turf. The environment is very clean and neat. Classrooms are set up for group projects. In addition, there is one room that contains activities such as Legos and Wii’s.

Contact Information

Name: Katie Decker
Title: Principal
Email: [email protected]
Website: schools.ccsd.net/bracken