[CharterSchools] Benjamin Franklin High School Launches Gateway to STEM Saturday Program

[charterschools at LACharter.org]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Eve Peyton ’98                       (504) 503-0062
                       epeyton at bfhsla.org Benjamin Franklin High School LaunchesGateway to STEM Saturday Program NEW ORLEANS (Aug. 14, 2019) – Benjamin Franklin High School is excited toannounce some changes to its celebrated Gateway Program for the 2019-2020school year.  The Gateway Program,which was piloted in the 2014-2015 academic year to help prepare eighth gradersat three local middle schools for the rigors of high school math, expanded toinclude English and robotics and last year served 19 different middle schoolsin the city.  This year, theprogram has shifted to a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math,or STEM, and will accept five eighth grade students from every public school inthe city in order to open the opportunity to as many schools as possible.Students who join the program will learn about coding, robotics, and thedesign-build process on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., beginning on Sept.14 and running through the end of 2019. The link to join is hereor at bit.ly/33IldEJ “STEM empowerstoday’s youth to be tomorrow’s leaders,” said Teresa Burchette, Ben Franklinteacher and director of the Gateway to STEM Program. Burchette also serves asclub sponsor and mentor for Franklin’s robotics team, which competes around thecountry and placed second in the 2019 world robotics championship. The program is funded through generousdonations from Capital One, the Brown Foundation, Cox Communications, StennisEducation Gateway (NASA), and Baptist Community Ministries.  “It is so exciting to have sponsorshelping us offer such an innovative STEM program to local middle-schoolers,”said Francoise McHugh, grants coordinator at Ben Franklin. “This will open STEMpathways to our youth and expose them to avenues that will potentially lead tohigher-paying careers in their future.”  Ben Franklin teacher Jay Weisman, whowill be offering coding instruction for the program, agrees: “By introducing 21st-centuryskills to middle school students, we have the ability to spark interest andeven innovation in them from a young age. These students will leave theGateway to STEM Program having been exposed to a wide variety of STEM topics,many of which are traditionally not present in their core curriculum. Weat Franklin are excited to have this opportunity to open our doors to studentsfrom around the city and build a growing community of active engineers,roboticists, coders, and more.” Inaddition to the Gateway to STEM Program, Ben Franklin’s Society for WomenEngineers will be holding a Back to School STEM Day for girls in grades 3-8 onSaturday, Aug. 24. Registration information can be found at www.bfhsla.org For more information or to arrange interviews,please contact Eve Peyton at 
(504) 503-0062 or epeyton at bfhsla.org.  About Benjamin Franklin High School Benjamin Franklin High School, New Orleans’ most outstanding public charter school, has beenpreparing students for success through academic achievement since its foundingin 1957. Consistently ranked as a “top public high school in the nation” by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek,and Business Week, Franklin hasreceived the highest School Performance School in Louisiana, making it the No.1 public school in the state, year after year. Ben Franklin is repeatedly nameda National Blue Ribbon School, producing Presidential and National MeritScholars each year. The exceptional students, faculty, and staff at BenFranklin are the best and the brightest in New Orleans. For more information,please visit bfhsla.org.     
Eve C. Peyton '98
Marketing and Communications CoordinatorBenjamin Franklin High School
2001 Leon C. Simon Drive
New Orleans, LA 70122
Office: (504) 503-0062
Cell: (573) 424-2919







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