The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education

The 2026 Spring Carson Family STEAM Night and Makers Market brought over 650 students, teachers families, and community collaborators together for an evening full of discovery, creativity, and community.

Thank you to our amazing partners at Carson Elementary STEAM Magnet, including Lucille Ciudad Real, Cynthia Becerra, Jesse Germain, Irene Alvarez, Brunhy Aezcua, for all the planning, and to the wonderful students and teachers who crafted special items for the Makers Market with incredible love and creativity! 🎨

A huge thank you to our incredible partners and volunteers who made this event possible. We are especially grateful for the generous support of the Impact Linda Vista Initiative, the Mulvaney Center for Community Awareness and Social Action, the Changemaker Hub, and the Judy Lewis Logue Alcala Chapter of Mortar Board.

A very special thank you goes to Clara Crystal and Francesca Dessert from the Mortar Board chapter for beautifully coordinating the evening's activities, which featured over 28 interactive booths led by more than 120 people from various USD clubs and partners. 💙🔬

We extend our gratitude to USD faculty and staff, including Dr. David De Haan, Dr. Arietta Fleming-Davies, Dr. Odesma Dalrymple, Dr. Laura Rivard, and students from their classes and from the STEM Outreach Club, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Asian Engineers, Phi Delta Epsilon, and Theta Tau, and Mike Senise and his students from Montgomery Middle School, for creating and facilitating meaningful STEAM experiences with the Carson Elementary STEAM Magnet students and families.

Special thanks to all of our amazing donors, who provided opportunity drawing prizes: The San Diego Bicycle Collective, Children’s Museum of Discovery, Japanese Friendship Garden, The Melt, Trick and Flip, The Plunge, San Diego County Fair, San Diego Model Railroad Museum, Handel’s, Belmont Park, Air Track Park, EcoBoat Rentals, Pelly’s Mini Golf.

Finally, we want to thank all USD College Corps students and the Carson faculty for bringing incredible energy, creativity, and hands-on learning experiences to our students throughout the entire event!

Is AI actually saving you time—or just adding to the noise? 🍎🤖

We’ve all seen the headlines about AI in education, but we at The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education at the University of San Diego want to hear the real story from the people on the front lines: You.

We’re launching the online 2026 AI and I Survey to understand how PreK-12 educators are navigating this shift. Your voice ensures that the future of EdTech is built by teachers, for teachers.

✅ Quick: 10-15 minutes.
✅ Anonymous: No links to your school or district.
✅ Rewarding: Early birds (first 50) get a shot at a $50 gift card, and everyone is entered for a final $50 drawing!

🔗 Shape the future here: https://lnkd.in/g9S_PNwm

University of San Diego USD School of Leadership and Education Sciences

Congratulations to our AnchorSTEM Scholars!! 🎉 🙌

Last week, we celebrated the incredible achievements of our AnchorSTEM graduating scholars 🎓: Angelus Almera, Monze Quevedo, Rodrigo Tapia Guevara, Sara Pardo, Briana Gonzalez-Labastida, Umulkheir Sharif Ali, Min Min Su Lah Soe, Ngolela Busaka, and Tony Abelson! It was a heartwarming evening filled with nostalgic memories, joyful moments, and lots of good wishes for the future. Scholars, wherever life takes you next, we know you'll continue to shine. Cheers to new beginnings! We couldn’t be prouder of you!

A heartfelt thank you to the AnchorSTEM leadership Team, Dr. Amanda Ruiz, Dr. Jane Friedman, Dr. Odesma Dalrymple, Dr. Drew Talley, Dr. Paula Krist, Dr. Perla Myers, and Dr. Carla PV. We are also deeply grateful to the AnchorSTEM mentors, USD faculty who supported them throughout their journey. Your guidance and encouragement made a difference every step of the way.

Finally, a special thank you to our JI staff members, Martha and Vijaya, and our wonderful High Tech High interns and College Corps fellows, including Sophia Sung who has been the driving force behind organizing this celebration. 💙

USD School of Leadership and Education Sciences, University of San Diego,

We just wrapped an incredible chapter with our Project eSPAC3 Family Celebration! 🎉 This milestone moment brought together our community for a day full of joy, connection, and culture—featuring hands-on activities, storytelling, a lively piñata, and of course, delicious tacos.

This celebration was a reflection of the families, students, and partners who made this journey so memorable. Thank you to our incredible team and collaborators for creating a space where community shines 🌍✨

📣 We are excited to share that Project VisMO will be presenting at the 2026 San Diego STEAM Educators Conference at USD on May 9th!

Join us for a playful, paper-powered dive into spatial reasoning and K–5 math!

🔗 Catch the latest from VisMO: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfppv-l0lT7DXnOFE0BuGeUyn2TEpFtmuWhbv1rrUEYPCU47w/viewform

Join us for The STEAM Educator’s Conference 2026!

Fully hands-on. Classroom-ready. 🤖✨
Practical AI & STEAM implementation + NEW Spanish learning track!

Build your network, explore K–12 workshop tracks, and gain ready-to-use strategies through interactive sessions, expert-led planning, and live student showcases.

📅 May 7–9, 2026
📍 University of San Diego

This year’s conference includes:
• Two interactive, AI-focused workshop tracks
• Hands-on, implementation-ready curriculum
• Student STEAM competitions
• Collaborative educator focus groups

🔗 Registration: https://whova.com/portal/registration/SQn7wIRrRVLIOOki2Tie/

In collaboration with Hands-On Technology Education and LKWSTEMFoundation

Friendly reminder 📣 We are still taking applications for educators to join the VisMO Summer ELO in partnership with the San Diego Unified School District!

This is a paid opportunity to teach hands-on, creative math through our Think & Fold curriculum and collaborate with fellow educators. Apply now!

🔗Application: https://shorturl.at/Jd1JB

We are looking for summer volunteers! VisMO empowers students to explore, create, and make sense of math in new ways and you can be part of it! ✂️ 🪅

🔗 Application: https://shorturl.at/tkSnN