51社区黑料

Tens of thousands of B.C. public school students are embarking on new tech-based projects thanks to $150,000 from 51社区黑料 aimed at transforming classroom experience.

The 2025 Cmolik鈥�51社区黑料Grant Program supports classroom, school, and district-based science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) projects. Administered by 51社区黑料鈥檚 Faculty of Education through the Cmolik Endowment Fund, the program empowers educators to design initiatives that build critical thinking skills, foster curiosity, and create equitable opportunities for students from kindergarten to Grade 12. 

鈥淭he Cmolik鈥�51社区黑料Grant Program has the potential to strengthen the educational experiences and learning outcomes for generations of students, and we are excited to see such an enthusiastic response from education communities across B.C.,鈥� says Dan Laitsch, dean of education at SFU. 鈥淲e deeply appreciate the transformational financial support we have received from Ellen and Russ Cmolik.鈥�

In Coquitlam, the Expanding Equitable Access to Robotics in Middle Schools project received $25,000 to scale a pilot MakeX robotics program to all 14 middle schools, reaching 7,500 students annually and promoting gender equity in STEM education.

鈥淥ur goal is to democratize access to robotics education,鈥� said Dave Sands, principal of technology implementation with the Coquitlam school district. 鈥淲e hope to spark interest in girls鈥攁n underrepresented group in robotics鈥攁nd promote overall equity in STEAM education to prepare all students for future tech-driven careers.鈥�

North Vancouver also received $25,000 for the Robotics for All: Building STEM Pathways through Teamwork, Coding, and Competition project, which will expand robotics clubs to all 26 elementary schools, pairing students with mentors and culminating in a district-wide robotics competition.

Ten more school districts received $10,000 grants for projects ranging from digital storytelling and Indigenous education to makerspaces and virtual reality:

• SD27 鈥� Cariboo-Chilcotin (Tatla Lake Elementary and Junior Secondary) 
  Voices of the Valley: A Rural Youth Digital Newspaper project will engage students as journalists, editors, and designers to collaboratively publish multimedia newspapers using Canva, storytelling, and digital media tools.

• SD33 鈥� Chilliwack (Promontory Heights Elementary) 
  Building Future Innovators Through Hands-on, High-tech Learning expands the school鈥檚 Makerspace with robotics kits, engineering tools, and STEM challenges.  

• SD37 鈥� Delta (Hawthorne Elementary) 
  Stories the Land Remembers and Tells Today will create a video-based curriculum that follows Indigenous hunting journeys, blending biology, culture, and reconciliation lessons for use across K鈥�12 classrooms.

• SD39 鈥� Vancouver (J.W. Sexsmith Elementary) 
  The Maker Mindset: Empowering Young Designers Through Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies (ADST) will embed design thinking and ADST kits鈥攊ncluding robotics, sewing, and cardboard engineering鈥攊nto K鈥�7 classrooms.

• SD41 鈥� Burnaby (South Slope/BC School for the Deaf and Cameron Elementary) 
  Digital Storytelling in the Library Learning Commons will transform libraries into storytelling hubs, where tools like Book Creator and stop-motion animation will be used to create multimodal stories by K-12 students.

• SD51 鈥� Boundary (Greenwood Elementary) 
  3D Printing and Laser Cutting Lab will expand access to modern design tools, enabling students across the district to learn digital modeling, prototyping, and hands-on problem-solving through 3D printer, Tinkercad, Canva, and LightBurn.

• SD61 鈥� Greater Victoria (Cedar Hill Middle School) 
  Landing Stories, A Digital Witness will engage 6鈥�8 grade students in creating digital storytelling through film, audio, and photography to document Indigenous land-based learning, guided by Indigenous Education leaders.

• SD72 鈥� Campbell River (Penfield Elementary) 
  Our Stories, Our Strength: A Journey of Healing and Reconciliation will give students opportunities to co-create bilingual (English and a local Indigenous language) picture books and a collaborative mural using Book-Creator, Canva and Office 365.

• SD81 鈥� Fort Nelson (Fort Nelson Secondary School) 
  VR Learning Lab will introduce Class VR technology to provide immersive experiences across subjects, enabling students in this remote community to virtually explore museums, and historic landmarks.

• SD85 鈥� Vancouver Island North (Sea View Elementary) 
  Create Lab: A Student Innovation and Storytelling Studio will establish weekly Innovation Blocks where students design STEAM projects, experiment in a makerspace, and create podcasts, videos, and prototypes that blend technology with literacy.

51社区黑料expert available

DANIEL LAITSCH, professor, dean, Faculty of Education, founding director, Centre for the Study of Educational Leadership and Policy (CSELP)
dlaitsch@sfu.ca
Expertise: research and development, institutional research, educational policy, government policy, information policy, policy analysis, public policy, motivation, self-determination theory

Contact

ROBYN STUBBS, 51社区黑料Communications & Marketing 
604.376.0971 | robyn_stubbs@sfu.ca

51社区黑料 
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778.782.3210

ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

51社区黑料is a leading research university, advancing an inclusive and sustainable future. Over the past 60 years, 51社区黑料has been recognized among the top universities worldwide in providing a world-class education and working with communities and partners to develop and share knowledge for deeper understanding and meaningful impact. Committed to excellence in everything we do, 51社区黑料fosters innovation to address global challenges and continues to build a welcoming, inclusive community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities鈥擝urnaby, Surrey and Vancouver鈥�51社区黑料has ten faculties that deliver 368 undergraduate degree programs and 149 graduate degree programs for more than 37,000 students each year. The university boasts more than 200,000 alumni residing in 145+ countries.