The Amazon Future Engineer sponsorship provides districts with ongoing professional development for elementary teachers on the content and pedagogy of computer science. This sponsorship provides everything your district needs to implement a sustainable district-wide elementary computer science initiative. This includes professional development workshops, ongoing model teaching and coaching, curricula and teacher lesson plans, and an online Instructional Coach Course to ensure the sustainability of the program.

Districts who are awarded will participate in professional development over a three-year period and teach computer science to students during the school day. Every district is different; professional development and support will be customized and scheduled to take into account each district’s unique needs. Professional development and support will be a combination of onsite and virtual PD and support.

This sponsorship is for a service award (no money is awarded) that provides all of the support needed to implement computer science in elementary grades district-wide. All professional development, support, and curriculum will be provided to each district at no cost.

Districts will collaborate with BootUp to schedule professional development and onsite support.  

Districts must commit to the following during the award period: 

• Commit a Computer Science Champion to

  • serve as the main contact between BootUp and teachers

  • schedule PD and set expectations for participants

  • champion the initiative and ensure progress once support from the award is complete

• Commit at least one Instructional Coach (in some cases this may also be the Computer Science Champion) to 

  • attend all PD workshops with teachers

  • complete BootUp’s online Instructional Coach Course (50 hours total)

  • co-lead PD workshops and support in year two of the award

  • lead PD workshops and support in year three of the award and beyond

• Teacher participation in professional development

  • recruit three total cohorts of teachers per grade band (K-2, 3rd+) over three years

  • teachers will participate in 12-18 hours of PD per cohort/grade band

  • encourage participation in model teaching and coaching

• Set expectations for classroom implementation during the school day
• Attend an annual virtual stakeholder meeting
• Complete an Outcomes Report twice a year
  
  

BootUp Professional Development

BootUp PD is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with experience implementing district-wide elementary computer science initiatives with a focus on creativity and problem-solving. BootUp prepares teachers to facilitate open-ended coding projects in the free platforms Scratch and ScratchJr that are not only project-based, but also personally meaningful. Students choose something that is interesting to them and find a way to explore that interest with code through design, music, art, animation, games, or stories. Find out more about BootUp at www.BootUpPD.org. 

Who Can Apply/Eligibility

U.S. public school districts serving elementary students are eligible to apply for this opportunity. Applications will not be accepted from individual schools or teachers but must be authorized and submitted through their District or LEA. A superintendent's signature is required. District support is a critical component in the successful implementation of this initiative.

Priority Will Be Given To:

• Districts serving a large percentage of students eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch 

• Districts committing to a large number of student participants

• Districts serving a large percentage of Minority students

• Districts committing to an equitable implementation; and

• District committing to a district-wide implementation*
  *Recommendation to reach all students and so participation demographics align to district demographics as a whole.
  
  

Application Details

The application must be completed electronically by creating an account (click REGISTER at the top of this page) and then clicking APPLY. However, a copy of the application form for your convenience can be found HERE (GoogleDoc)
The District Letter of Commitment - Superintendent Request form can be completed electronically or found HERE (GoogleDoc)

Learn more about Amazon Future Engineer by visiting www.amazonfutureengineer.com
Learn more about BootUp by visiting www.bootuppd.org/amazonfutureengineer

Email amazonfutureengineer@bootuppd.org with questions or to learn more!