Era kids code with robots thanks to CCF grant
Tension builds in a dimly lit room at Era Elementary School.
The students place colored tiles on the floor in various orders before placing the Sphero Indi robot on the first tile. The students watch as the rolling robot takes off, using a sensor to detect colors. Each color tells the robot to speed up, turn or slow down. If it reaches the final purple card, the robot celebrates with a 360-degree spin. Other times, a misplaced tile sends the robot veering off course.
Whether the students realize it or not, each tile represents a piece of code, and the entire sequence becomes a program.
“Throwing words out like coding can seem overwhelming but they’ve been exposed to technology from an early age, so students really jumped in without any fear,” said Dana Klement, Principal of Era Elementary.
The school received the Sphero Indi robots last semester from an Era ISD Education Foundation grant that was funded by the CoServ Education Foundation.
While Era ISD’s Education Foundation was created in 2021, CCF has been supporting the education foundations in our service area for decades. In 2022, CCF funded 22 education foundation grants and one ISD grant for a total of $280,000. In 2023, the funding was increased to $305,000.
Education foundations primarily use the funds for teacher-sponsored grants, such as the one Era Elementary received, and for senior scholarships.
“We have amazing teachers in the districts we serve who come up with fun, creative ideas and we’re proud to be able to support them through our education foundation grants,” said Whitney Gohlke, CoServ’s Manager of Academic Initiatives. “From kindergarten through senior year, CCF grants put students on the path for success beyond high school.”
The CoServ Charitable Foundation’s academic initiatives are funded entirely by Operation Roundup, where CoServ Members and Customers round their bills up to the nearest dollar. The pennies from Operation Roundup help CCF fund grants within our service area.
The CoServ Charitable Foundation’s academic initiatives are funded entirely by Operation Roundup, where CoServ Members and Customers round their bills up to the nearest dollar. The pennies from Operation Roundup help CCF fund grants within our service area.