Programs
As mentioned previously, the DPEA is a four-year Career Technical Education (CTE) program based at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California. It applies a project-and-design-based approach to teach students critical analytical, design, and problem-solving skills.
Students complete three CTE Pathways through the program coursework: Engineering Technology, Product Innovation & Design, and Machining & Forming Technologies.
The DPEA functions as a “Lab School” in which new concepts and approaches to project-based STEAM learning can be piloted, and if successful, expanded.
Elementary School Field Trips
These are half-day visits to the DPEA for groups of 75-100 elementary school students to have the opportunity to participate in several immersive, project-based Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) activities.
These include interacting with original exhibits and providing user feedback to 12th grade exhibit designers, learning how to make parts on industrial machinery from DPEA 10th and 11th graders, and using electronics and coding to create art projects with LEDs.
Throughout all of these activities, elementary school students are mentored by DPEA high school students.
Elementary School STEAM Project Deployment
Interdisciplinary projects form the basis of the STEAM curriculum that is deployed in all TK-6th grade levels.
The project concepts and complexity are driven by state standards and include a wide range of topics. Examples include a Rocket project for 3rd graders to a sophisticated Arduino Weather Station project for 6th graders.
The Formative Foundation works in partnership with school districts to procure and fabricate custom supplies and materials needed for each project.
Elementary School STEAM Teacher Professional Development
STEAM teachers from multiple school districts participate in weekly professional development sessions to develop the necessary technical skills to create and teach project- and design-based STEAM curriculum.
These professional development sessions include specialized training on industrial equipment and machinery, as well as a variety of manufacturing and fabrication techniques. Learning safety practices and protocols related to all aspects of working in an industrial environment is an essential part of these sessions.
Elementary School STEAM Consortium
Santa Barbara Unified, Goleta Union, and Hope Elementary School District have joined forces with Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy (DPEA) to unify and improve STEAM curriculum in grades TK-6 through an interdistrict STEAM Consortium.
Every week, teachers from 19 schools meet in the DPEA specialized manufacturing facility for professional development and collaboration to support educational opportunities for TK-6 youth across the community.
Plans are in motion to outfit each school site with a modular STEAM Lab that will include tools and machines that will enable prototyping, fabrication, and distribution of custom supplies needed to support interdisciplinary STEAM curriculum.
STEAM Facilities & Curriculum Consulting
We offer a variety of consulting opportunities to national and international school districts and educational organizations.
Visits can be half day, full day, or multi day visits depending on client needs and interests.
Topics can include:
1. Specific plans and considerations when building specialized STEAM or manufacturing facilities for educational settings,
2. Integrated STEAM Curriculum Development with an emphasis on project- and design-based learning best practices,
3. Teacher Professional Development with an emphasis on how to train people to use industrial machinery and equipment and then apply those skills to create original, interdisciplinary STEAM projects and curriculum.
Development / Fundraising Strategies Consulting
We offer a variety of consulting opportunities regarding development and fundraising strategies that have proven successful for capital campaigns as well as for raising annual operating costs.
We have experience working with private philanthropists and donors, as well as foundations of all sizes. We also have utilized crowdsourcing smaller donations in a grassroots fashion from individuals and community members.
