Calcasieu Parish School Board Advances STEAM Education with MakerBot 3D Printers

MakerBot, a Stratasys company (Nasdaq: SSYS), today announced that Calcasieu Parish School Board has invested in 200 MakerBot SKETCH Classroom sets, totaling 400 SKETCH 3D printers, to further advance its STEAM education and build critical skills among its students. The addition of SKETCH 3D printers brings the latest technological innovations to students to enhance classroom learning across grade levels and better prepare them for the future.

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MakerBot SKETCH Classroom (Photo: Business Wire)

“We want to make a difference with our students and give them all equal opportunities to succeed,” said Kim Leblanc, Chief Technology Officer at Calcasieu Parish School Board. “To do that, we need to give them tools and resources that will help them develop critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity skills. We believe that 3D printing and the MakerBot 3D printers fits right in and can support our teachers and students along their learning journey.”

Located in southwest Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish School Board is the fifth largest school district in the state. The district has 29,500 students across its 60 elementary, middle, and high schools. Its mission is to “build foundations for the future,” and it does so by providing students with the latest technologies they need to be successful in and out of the classroom. In addition to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) classes, the school district offers programs for advanced placement, gifted, and career & technical education to prepare students with skills needed for 21st century careers.

Using its allocated funds from the Title I, Part A federal grant program to purchase the 3D printers, Calcasieu Parish School Board continues to ensure that all of its students have equitable access to technology that will help accelerate learning in the classroom and support the development of cognitive and technical abilities. Each SKETCH Classroom includes two SKETCH 3D printers, ISTE-certified MakerBot Certification training programs for educators and students, and additional accessories and materials. Calcasieu Parish’s EdTech partner for the introduction to MakerBot was Bluum, the leading provider of transformational technology solutions for educators.