Coaching through Coding opens new learning horizons

Cooperation helps the community thrive. Peeples Interrelated Teacher Victoria Saxon dreamed of helping her students learning coding while leading each other, and her vision is coming into focus. 

With the help of an $880 grant from the Fayette County Education Foundation, her “Coaching through Coding” initiative is making a difference. 

Coaching through Coding is designed for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to teach younger students academic skills through use of BeeBots and Sphero Mini robots, tools used to practice coding. Through cooperative problem solving, they will be able to practice mastery of standards. 

“This helps both groups because the older students serve as role models and practice social skills, such as patience and empathy, by teaching,” said Saxon. “The younger ones benefit from learning in a highly engaging way and are more receptive to learning from an older peer.”

Saxon is thrilled to see the program grow. 

“My ultimate goal is to build 21st Century Skills, such as creativity, grit, and critical thinking in our students at Peeples,” she said. “As we continue to explore the possibilities, our plan is to expand our range of students and task my students with developing their own coding and robotics challenges to share.”

The Fayette County Education Foundation uses tax-deductible gifts to provide funds and opportunities above and beyond the normal operating budget of the school system, and 100 percent of donations are returned to classrooms. Celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, the Fayette County Education Foundation has awarded well over $200,000 in teacher grants since 2002. 

For more information on the Fayette County Education Foundation, visit www. fayettecountyeducationfoundation.com. For donation information, contact Melinda Berry Dreisbach, Fayette County Public Schools, at berrydreisbach.melinda@mail.fcboe.org or call 770-460-3535.