La Honda STEAM Academy’s specialized MakerSpace, a former computer lab that’s been transformed into a hands-on, high tech-learning experience for students, has received a $7,500 donation from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The money was given to enhance the equipment at the Lompoc-based facility. The gift is part of the tribe’s philanthropic Technology in Schools Program, aimed at fulfilling high-tech needs in Santa Barbara County classrooms.
“La Honda STEAM Academy’s MarkerSpace is an example of educators being creative with the space they have while using the latest technology to keep students engaged,” said Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
“We’re proud to support the academy and help furnish the tools it needs to educate students in inventive ways,” he said.
La Honda STEAM Academy is a TK sixth-grade elementary school in which 50 percent of its students are English Language learners, and 86 percent of the student body is identified as having low-socioeconomic status.
The school’s focus is to provide students with an engaging, hands-on approach to learning that exposes them to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
At the center of the academy’s mission is its MakerSpace, which gives students an opportunity to take on open-ended challenges and use engineering practices, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to accomplish tasks.
“We’ve repurposed our computer lab to become a safe, organized environment for students to work collaboratively,” said Noelle Barthel, principal of La Honda STEAM Academy.
“This space will help our students explore their creativity, see real world connections, and develop their ingenuity,” she said.
“Thanks to the generous donation by the Chumash Foundation, we will be able to purchase more robots, technology, tools, and media production equipment,” Barthel said.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $20 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving.
For more about the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation and its giving programs, visit www.santaynezchumash.org.
— Veronica V. Sandoval for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.