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Julie Bergman,a third grade teacher at McKevett Elementary, helps Pablo Banuelos, 8, and Leo Arreola,8 during Thursday’s Hour of Code exercise
Photo by Mike Johnson
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McKevett students get future job training
December 23, 2016
Santa Paula News
By Mike Johnson
Santa Paula Times
Never to early to learn may be the key for these young students. A 3rd grade class at McKevett Elementary school may just be getting the very training that they can put to use when career options come calling.
This past week, the class took part in a world-wide movement called “The Hour of Code”, with as many as 180 nations being involved. The program allows students the ability to learn computer programming but with the computer languages being much more simplified than in the past. It makes the process fun for kids, says Julie Bergman, the teacher of this adventurous class of third graders,the only class of its kind at the school or in the entire Santa Paula Unified School District. According to Bergman, the need for programmers is extremely high, especially when it comes to girls.
The number of girls in this field is virtually nonexistent”, says Bergman, in her 18th year with the district, and her first year at McKevett and in charge of this innovative type of class. She was at Blanchard Elementary for the entire first part of her career.
The class was made possible by a grant two years ago which allowed for the purchase of 12 I-Pads and a color printer to equip the class. The class has been spending one hour a day learning the computer language and its ultimate goal is to write the code and program a smallrobot that was donated by a “very generous person”, according to Bergman.
And students need no prompting. “Every student is completely involved. If they could do it all day they would.” She says that most of her students don’t have a computer at home or access to one. For most of these students there’s not a lot of awareness or exposure “, says Bergman.
