Makerspaces

Liberty Elementary School is a small elementary school is Northwest Baltimore supporting 442 students. Their school population is 100% African American and 93.55 of students qualify for Federal Free and/or Reduced Meals. Liberty Elementary School is a traditional, community-based, public school in the Baltimore City Public School System which currently serves around 86,000 students.

The Challenge

While the school has made sizable investments in technology over the past few years, they were looking to expand into the areas of student making and fabrication. Since this is a new concept in many districts, particularly urban districts they needed to find a way to bring expertise within the school and acquire the funding needed to launch a fabrication program.

The Solution

This challenge was overcome by seeking out partners who could provide expertise and train staff members and also provide makerspace services to students. Local foundations were approached about the soft skills that are developed through makerspaces and it was discussed how this could fit into Liberty’s overall academic scheme. Ultimately, they teamed with Code In The Schools, a local Baltimore non-profit working in the schools to provide computer science and computer coding activities to provide a computer science class twice a week. The project was seeded with a minimal outlay of school funds and they sought out foundational dollars to match the investment. In summer 2014 the Liberty ‘Idea Lab’ was launched. The Code In The School staff has helped to build awareness and capacity amongst Liberty staff and parents. Kids can now visit the idea lab for 3D printing, computer coding, video game design, circuit design, robotics, audrinos, and other making activities. It has helped to spur on a culture of creativity throughout the school.

From the U.S. Department of Education:

• Future Ready Schools: Building Technology Infrastructure for Learning

Point of Contact

Joseph Manko
Email: jmanko@bcps.k12.md.us
Phone: 410-396-0571
@joemanko