École St-Paul de Trois-Rivières becomes an eSTIMe school

École St-Paul de Trois-Rivières has become the second school in Quebec, after École Paul-Jarry in Montreal, to be accredited by the eSTIMe program, which recognizes that all of the school's students have been introduced to computer programming and have developed significant skills by the end of their primary education. An accreditation that changes the game for the school team.

"The feeling of belonging to the school is nourished and optimized with this collective project. The students, their parents and the staff all feel involved and motivated," points out school principal Mylène Poudrier. It must be said that the school is located in an underprivileged area and that it welcomes many young people in vulnerable situations. For years, it has had difficulty shedding the unflattering label that comes with this clientele.

The idea of endowing the school with a specific project was born in 2019. Manon Rocheleau, who had been the principal for about ten years, had undertaken to give the school a "science and techno" color. Then came a change of direction and... a pandemic. "For me, it was important to continue to develop this project, which already belonged to the school team," says Mylène Poudrier, who took up her position in January 2020.

eSTIMe support

In order to undertake the integration of the new techno section, St-Paul School has requested the support of the eSTIMe organizationwhich has as its mission to support elementary school in the integration of computer programming.

Teachers are supported in the realization of learning and evaluation situations (LES) by coaches hired by the organization. Generally, these are university students in science and engineering programs. The activities take place for at least one hour per month for all students from kindergarten to grade 6. 

"The activities are done in the form of a model, so students and teachers are learning at the same time. We also offer a repertoire of turnkey activities to allow the teacher to be autonomous," says Christine Jost, founder and director of eSTIMe.

During the 2020-2021 school year, activities had to be held online, which the principal admits was not always easy. However, she is happy to have persevered since she now sees the benefits of the project. "There is a real dynamic of mutual aid that has been created in the school among the teachers. New teachers are quickly integrated. Some want to go further. One teacher is recognized as an ICT agent in her job.

In 2021-2022, the return of attendance activities has done the most good for everyone. In 2022-2023, the support continues. The school team has made it their mission to implement more activities that allow for instructional differentiation.

What difference does accreditation make?

In June 2022, the 6th grade students all completed an SAE in which they were required to program a story with characters and actions. This was a creative task with the goal of validating the knowledge and skills learned in programming and robotics since 2019.

This activity allowed the students to testify to what they have learned since the beginning of the implementation of the program in the school. In a few years, all the students who will have completed their entire primary education at École St-Paul de Trois-Rivières will have experienced computer programming activities each year, for a total of at least 70 hours. It would then be interesting to compare their results with those of the graduating students in 2022.

At the same time, the school obtained an accreditation from the eSTIMe program, which certifies that all students from kindergarten to grade 6 are learning computer programming. "This accreditation lends credibility to the process and certifies that we are supporting our students and ourselves in the development of basic programming skills. It is an official recognition that allows us to shine in our environment," says the director.

In addition : 

• The eSTIMe project for learning differently École branchée's Stéphanie Dionne meets Christine Jost, founder of the eSTIMe organization. 
• Computer programming: A support program for teachers 
• École Saint-Paul becomes the first eSTMe school in Mauricie (Press release)
• The Robotics and programming training of CADRE21, developed by the eSTIMe team

To see or review in video training: Demystifying computer code with eSTIMe