The Future Belongs

To Our Children.

We take responsibility for our dreams because they have told us that you cannot innovate and build something like this in neighborhoods like this. "They" have told us that there is only one way to "fix" our communities. "They" have told us that there is no money for art or education. We don't believe them either, and that is why we are here. We believe that development starts with people, and our business is building new educational and sustainability processes that intersect culture, community and technology; all which will feed the dreams of our neighborhoods and cities at large.

Our approach:

The Experiential Classroom

S.T.E.A.M. in the context of the BRP accounts for science, technology, ETHICS, art and mathematics. As engineering is the application of science and/or technology, we deem it repetitive to represent it as a pillar of our pedagogical approach; being that we are grounding this philosophy in experiential activities, the application of science and technology is implicit. Technology is explained to students as devices or rituals that solve problems for humans in order to raise the collective quality of life. This ties into the profound need for students to be exposed to ETHICS, the principles governing the application of any of these disciplines. Ethics has been missing from the science and technology sector and its absence has had a deleterious effect on business practices and the general direction of innovation.

The integration of ethics into our STEAM curriculum, via the Virtues Project, permits us to provide a rubric for complimenting the technical and artistic richness that a project of this scale and complexity offers. Using an established program with an easy to grasp conceptual base aligns the work of the BRP with the needs of the community. The curriculum we are developing has been used in both Public and Private schools as well as in a Montessori school and has proven effective in each environment. Coding, Robotics, Sustainable Energy production, electronics assembly and repair are all components of the curriculum that we are developing, with an intial focus on exposing students to the technology and later working towards mastery. The outcome is technology education that is responsive to its students needs...STEAM for and by the people!

Foundational Concepts of Experiential Learning:

In person, hands on materials: Actual coding, actual robot assembly and operation but structured to make learning fun.
Foundational Skill Building: Typing, training and projects with hand tools and power tools, soldering.
Repetition. Consistent practice builds skills.
Collaborative Projects: Integrating the arts encourages innovative thinking and problem-solving, vital for discovering new solutions.
Contextual Materials: Students lock into learning when the materials reflect their cultural background and give them real world examples.
Practical Preparation: BRP collaborates with businesses and individuals who can provide practical learning opportunities to build the skillsets needed for STEAM careers.

A report done from the After School Alliance found that jobs requiring STEM skills continue to grow, but too many students lack opportunities to learn and develop these skills. Computing and mathematical jobs are expected to grow by 14% between 2018 and 2028, outpacing all other STEM careers. By 2025 more than 2 million STEM jobs will go unfilled due to a lack of skilled candidates.

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