2025 6th Annual C-STEM Symposium

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 (new date & venue)

Early Bird Registration Until 2/18/2025 - $150   |   General Registration - $180

Register Here

Symposium Program

The UC Davis C-STEM Center, Alvord Unified School District and partners will organize the 2025 6th Annual C-STEM Symposium on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at the SBCSS West End Educational Service Center, Rancho Cucamonga, California.  The theme of this year's symposium is "The Art of Student Engagement for Learning Math with Coding & Robotics."

The Annual C-STEM Symposium provides a forum for Southern California district and school administrators, and K-12 teachers in Southern California to share their visions, best practices, and experiences in transforming math education with hands-on coding and robotics, with a special focus on closing the math achievement gap for at-promise students and English language learners.

C-STEM is a UC Approved Educational Preparation Program for Undergraduate Admission for all UC campuses with UCOP A-G Program Status. The C-STEM program transforms math education, helps close the math achievement gap, and engages traditionally unrepresented groups and at-risk students in hands-on learning math with computing and robotics, as shown in C-STEM Math Success Stories.

Experienced C-STEM teachers will share their insights and strategies for integrating C-STEM coding and robotics into classroom teaching, and how to get started. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore C-STEM Math/CS/Engineering Curriculum, strategies, resources, and robotics with Arduino and Linkbots. Experienced C-STEM administrators will talk about the successful implementation of C-STEM, hands-on learning, and discuss long-term benefits and adaptability of the program.

Keynote Speakers

STEM without Limits:  Empowering Educators to Shape Future Innovators

Ted Alejandre is the 34th Superintendent of Schools for San Bernardino County. He was first elected to the county’s lead educational seat in June 2014 and was reelected in both 2018 and 2022. He began his third consecutive four-year term in January 2023.

With more than three decades of experience in public education, Mr. Alejandre has been a teacher, vice principal, principal, and director of fiscal services at the district level. He joined the office of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools in 2008 as the assistant superintendent of Business Services and later was appointed deputy superintendent, overseeing all operations of the organization.

As county superintendent, Mr. Alejandre works collaboratively with educators, families, other agencies, and community partners to provide advocacy, leadership, and services for nearly 400,000 K-12 students attending public schools in San Bernardino County. His office oversees a $370 million annual operating budget and employs over 2,400 employees.

Among the highlights of Mr. Alejandre’s service as county superintendent are nurturing the Cradle to Career Roadmap, targeting early literacy, establishing the first ever countywide Student Advisory Panel, being President of the California County Superintendents coalition, and revamping the Alliance for Education to strengthen the alignment and connection of business and community organizations to education and workforce development.

For being a fierce advocate for education, Mr. Alejandre was selected as the California Superintendent of the Year for 2022 by the Association of California School Administrators.  Mr. Alejandre is also a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel serving since 1984. He resides in Yucaipa with his wife, Barbara, and they have three children.

Dani Hreha, Director of Engineering, Internal Applications, Snap Inc. Dani is a product builder, passionate people leader, and proven turnaround and growth agent. Known for empowering teams to innovate at scale, she places human-centered design at the core of every solution she develops. Her leadership style is rooted in creating thriving environments where diverse perspectives fuel creativity and drive transformative business outcomes.

Dani’s professional journey began in finance, navigating the fast-paced world of investment banking in New York. She then brought her strategic skillset to Best Buy during a critical shift from brick-and-mortar to omni-channel retail, contributing to initiatives that drove the company’s evolution. At Amazon, she managed retail categories exceeding $600 million, later scaling a global program to accelerate startup success on Amazon.com. Along the way, she discovered a passion for enhancing employee experiences, leveraging her expertise in product, program, and engineering leadership to build tools and systems that enabled teams to grow and thrive.

Today, Dani leads an engineering organization at Snap, where she oversees web properties, internal products and systems, CRM technology, and developer tools. Her multifaceted experience—from finance and retail to tech—underscores her ability to drive innovation and foster talent across diverse industries. Based in Seattle, Washington, Dani continues to champion high-performing teams that harness the power of technology for sustained growth. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and Political Science from Ohio University.

Plenary Panel

The Art of Student Engagement for Learning Math with Coding & Robotics

Mr. Mauricio Arellano was appointed as the Superintendent of San Bernardino City Unified School District in 2023 after an extensive national search. Prior to his arrival to the SBCUSD, Mr. Arellano served as the Superintendent of Redlands USD and Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources for the Palm Springs Unified School District for fourteen years, respectively. Previous to his assignment in Palm Springs, he served for twelve years as the Certificated Director of Personnel, Elementary Principal, Elementary Vice-Principal and Elementary Teacher for the San Bernardino City Unified School District. Mr. Arellano is a long-time member of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), the California Association of Bilingual Educators (CABE), the School Superintendents Association (AASA), the Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) and the American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA). He was recently invited to become a member of the National Center for Education Research and Technology (NCERT), a very prestigious national level Superintendents Association. Recognitions include being named ACSA’s Region XIX Personnel/Human Resources Administrator of the Year in 2008, ACSA’s Ray Curry Award winner for excellence in school personnel in 2012, the recipient of the 2015 Riverside County Office of Education Models of Excellence Award for his work with the Skillful Leader Program and the 2016 Riverside County Administrator of the year. Since his arrival in San Bernardino USD, working in tandem with the Board of Education and all the remarkable employees at San Bernardino USD, the District has been focused on implementing a 21st Century learning experience for all students.

Mr. Arellano earned his Bachelor’s Degrees in Sociology and Spanish in 1990 from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and his Master of Arts Degree in Educational Administration in 1996 from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB).

Dr. Alfonso Jiménez has served as the Superintendent of the Hacienda La Puente USD since July 1, 2020. The District serves 15,642 TK-12 students, 536 preschool children, and 13,000 adult education learners. Dr. Jiménez is in his 29th year in education and in his 22nd year in administration, having served as assistant principal, principal, director, assistant superintendent, deputy superintendent, and superintendent.

Dr. Jiménez is a recognized innovative educational thought leader. Through his leadership, various new programs were launched in the district such as speech and debate for middle and high school students, Mt. San Antonio Workman Early College Academy Network (WeCAN), and the Youth Cinema Project film pathway from elementary to high school. An equity driven leader, Dr. Jiménez, was instrumental in the implementation of ethnic studies district-wide at all levels. He also led the expansion of New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) by establishing it as the District’s learning framework. C-STEM, visual and performing arts, Conga Kids, robotics, and dual immersion programs also continue to thrive under his leadership. All these programs provide innovative and engaging learning experiences for students.  Under his leadership, the district continues to earn various honors of excellence, including the 2023 District Honor Roll Award from the Educational Results Partnership organization for increasing student achievement consistently, a California Department of Education (CDE) Pivotal Practice Award in 2022, and California School Board’s Association (CSBA) Golden Bell Award for Project LEAD (Life Experiences about Democracy) in 2023.  Additionally, four schools recently earned the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award for student achievement, the most of any district in one year in the state and nation!

Dr. Jiménez is the 2022 UC Davis C-STEM Center Superintendent of the Year and a 2022 National School Public Relations Association Superintendent to Watch. He was recently named the 2023 CALSA Region 5 Superintendent of the Year.   Dr. Jiménez holds a B.S in Physiology from California State University, Long Beach, M.S. in Administration from Pepperdine, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California. Updates from Dr. Jiménez are found on X using @SuptDrJimenez.

Breakout Sessions

Many hands-on breakout sessions are designed for Learning through doing. Learn from experienced C-STEM teachers to share their experience on how to integrate computing, robotics, Arduino into their STEM classes for hands-on learning to close the achievement gap. Bring your own laptop of Windows, Mac OS X, or Chromebook to join many hands-on sessions to learn, and take the latest technologies, curriculum, know-how, and excitement to your classroom teaching and making. You can find details of breakout sessions here.

Breakout Session 1 (9:45am-10:55am)

1A.  RoboPlay Challenge Competition:  Showcasing Student Learning & Adding Pizazz to Math Instruction (Room Guasti)

1B.  Hands-On:  For Newbies & Absolute Beginners - Introduction to Getting Started with Hands-on C-STEM Coding, Robotics, and Curriculum (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) (Room Chaffey)

1C.  Teacher-to-Teacher Sharing (ES):  Best Practices, Strategies, Lessons, and Projects in Integrating C-STEM Coding and Robotics into Teaching Elementary School Math (Room Milliken)

1D.  Showcasing Student Learning & Live Demonstration of Teaching Integrated Math/Science/Coding/Robotics - Middle School (Room Rains)

1E.  For Administrators:  Leading the Change in Math and Computer Science Teaching & Learning (Room Graber)

Breakout Session 2 (11am-12:10pm)

2A. Integrating Coding and Robotics into Math for Dual Immersion/Multi-Language Learners (ELL) (Room Guasti)

2B.  Hands-On:  Arduino - Introduction to Basic Electronics and Creative Problem Solving for Physical Computing (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) (Room Chaffey)

2C.  Teacher-to-Teacher Sharing (MS):  Best Practices, Strategies, Lessons, and Projects in Integrating C-STEM Coding and Robotics into Teaching Middle School Math (6th-8th) (Room Milliken)

2D.  Live-Teaching (ES) - Demonstration of Teaching Math/Coding/Robotics - Elementary School (Room Rains)     

2E.  Pathways & Careers in STEM/Robotics (Room Graber)

Breakout Session 3 (1:15pm-2:25pm)

3A.  Extended Learning (After School, Summer Math/Robotics Camps, & Student Clubs) (Room Guasti)

3B.  C-STEM for Science Education and CTE/CS (Room Chaffey)

3C.  Teacher-to-Teacher Sharing (All Levels):  Best Practices, Strategies, Lessons, and Projects to Increase Student Engagement, Creativity & Achievement with C-STEM (Room Milliken)

3D.  Teaching Computer Science for MS & HS (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) (Room Rains) Moved to Session 4D at 2:35pm

3E.  Strategies for Inclusive Learning (Room Graber)

Breakout Session 4 (2:35pm-3:45pm)

4A.  GIRL Camp, Ujima GIRL Project, UCD/UCR CS Supplementary Teaching Credential Authorization Program, and AP Computer Science Principles with Robotics (Room Guasti)

4B.  Hands-On:  Full STREAM Ahead: Reading/Literacy, Creating Art, Animations, Music, and STEAM in Your School (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) (Room Chaffey)

4C.  Teacher-to-Teacher Sharing (HS):  Best Practices, Strategies, Lessons, and Projects in Integrating C-STEM Coding and Robotics into Teaching High School Math (Room Milliken)

4D.  Teaching Computer Science for MS & HS (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) (Room Rains)  - Moved from Session 3D

Breakout Session 4 (2:35pm-3:45pm)

Closing and Raffle (Room Graber)

Join us for a fun closing!  Please don't forget to complete the Symposium Feedback form as it helps us to in organizing our next Symposium.  Turn it in for a raffle ticket and a chance to win a Linkbot or Arduino kit as well as other one-of-a-kind memorabilia!  

Date & Time: March 18, 2025, Time 8:00 am-4:00 pm
Location: West End Educational Service Center, 8265 Aspen Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA  91730
Hosted by: Alvord Unified School District & UC Davis C-STEM

Registration and Payment

• Early bird registration is $150 until February 18, 2025. General registration is $180.
• Registration deadline for the Symposium is March 16, 2025.
• Please register through our Eventbrite page.
• Registration via purchase order: please send a purchase order including the attendees' full names, email addresses, and school district information to order@c-stem.ucdavis.edu.