The name on the building showcases the focus for Loess Hills Computer Science Elementary School.
“We were the first school to try computer coding.”
John Beeck is principal of Loess Hills that opened in 2014.
“There’s a lot of schools nationwide and even worldwide that tried to teach coding a little bit. Usually, it’s an after-school club or a before-school club. We thought let’s take it a step further and incorporate it in with other subjects.”
The state of Iowa uses Loess Hills as the inspiration for a state-wide program called “Computer Science is Elementary”. Schools receive grants to boost computer literacy. It’s all part of the “Future Ready Iowa” initiative to prepare Iowans for the workforce.
“The whole world is kind of controlled by computer science anymore. So why not teach kids that? The whole world relies on computers. Because the jobs they get when they graduate will probably deal with computer programing.”
One of Sioux City’s future graduates, is Brooklyn Winkel, a 10-year-old, with a tenacity for technology.
“What do you think about doing computers?”
“It’s a really versatile thing. You know. I think it’s very cool. It’s something different.”
What’s different about Loess Hill? Students learn programming starting in Kindergarten.
“Very basic level when they first start, it’s a lot about directionality; cause and effect. We throw in a lot of number sense right away when we teach our kindergartners, and it develops and grows and grows and in 5thgrade they are actually creating programs.”
Brooklyn’s one of those 5thgraders mastering 21stcentury skills.
“Coding is like telling what your computer what to do. You can tell the computer what to do, you can do anything. There is no limitation. It makes it easier and more fun than looking at your textbook. Which we do. We sprinkle in some other things. It’s really cool to get immersed into something. “
Principal Beeck says having student do more than just worksheets help them understand educational concepts.
“We still do that. But sometime we can say to prove to the math teacher you know how to simplify fractions, you can do it in a computer program. You can code it to prove you can simplify fractions.”
Principal Beeck, like many from his era, didn’t experience computers until high school, about 35-years ago.
“I took a class. I took a computer class and it was in a math class. The instructor in high school let us do a little computer programing. It was an old Apple IIe computer. We put code in and a car went around in a race track. We had no idea how the code worked. They would laugh at my little program I did as a senior in high school. My Kindergarten and 1stgraders would laugh at that now. It has grown and grown and developed and developed. It would be silly if we didn’t take advantage of that.”
“Do your parents ever say you know more about computers than they do?”
“My dad is super computer savvy. He’s like 'Oh, my gosh'. He’s very surprised. 'I haven’t done Scratch, I do a little Java Script'. We have gotten a little closer. "
"My mom and dad are like 'Oh, my gosh how does that work?' My mom is asking me a coding question. She said, 'What did you say? Is that a code for dinner?' And I’m like just forget it.”
Principal Beeck says this type of teaching increases engagement and long-term memory.
“The whole world is kind of controlled by computer science anymore. So why not teach kids that? The whole world relies on computers. Because the jobs they get when they graduate will probably deal with computer programing.”
Brooklyn says her experience at Loess Hills also changed the way she computes her future.
“Before I went to this school, I wanted to be an author and now I want to do books with little animations. That would be cool.”
Loess Hills Computer Programing School recently received a $50,000 grant. The computer curriculum is being used as a prototype for other schools in the states.
