Fall-2023

After-School Enrichment

Hello Bugbee Families! Welcome back to NextGen SmartyPants!

This is our 7th year teaching your wonderful children at Bugbee and we couldn't be more excited to share our love of STEAM education with them again! For those new to us... welcome! We invite you to learn more about NextGen SmartyPants, our Curriculum, and what you can expect your child to gain from their experience in our programs!

What is

NextGen SmartyPants?

NextGen SmartyPants Non-Profit Corporation is a 501c3 educational non-profit organization dedicated to providing high-quality STEAM education to all children regardless of socioeconomic status.

We raise money from corporations, grants, family foundations, and individuals to keep our programs about 30% less than comparable STEM programs. Our programs are also delivered for free to families below the poverty line.

Our mission is to collaborate with schools to give kids a way to apply the Math skills they learn in their classrooms in a fun and engaging way.

We have taught more than 3000 children to date and operate in 31 schools across Connecticut.

Who is

NextGen SmartyPants?

Most of our Teachers are full-time Teachers that teach part-time after-school with NextGen SmartyPants. They will often have Masters degrees in Education, ABA Certifications, and many years of experience, We also have stay-at-home Parents, and work-from-home Parents that teach 1-hour classes once per week to our kids.

NextGen SmartyPants was founded by a Parent in West Hartford in 2016. Paras Patani is a Father, Engineer, Entrepreneur, and LEGO Master. He is proudly referred to as "Mr. LEGO" by his many students, fans, and in the press. Mr. LEGO loves receiving fan mail and replies to as many as he can! :)

What does

NextGen SmartyPants

teach?

Our curriculum centers around Robotics. We designed our curriculum this way because Robotics brings together Coding, Engineering, and Circuits

From a STEAM perspective, rarely in real life do we see any one of these technologies alone. In a car or drone, for example, these technologies interact and work together as a system. Thats why our courses teach your child a variety of STEAM subjects

We also teach LEGO Design, iMovie, Photography, Photoshop, 3D Animation, Unity Game Engines, Arduino, and more to round-out our offering

NextGen SmartyPants Classes are designed to grow with your Student over the years. While some projects may seem similar, the Math and complexity of Engineering concepts are varied by grade-level of the Student

Course

Information

Grades K-1

All NextGen SmartyPants programs designed for Students in Grades K-1 use Yellow icons similar to the ones here:

Courses Planned for 2023-24
at Bugbee Elementary School

Fall-Semester

October-December

Winter-Semester

January-March

Spring-Semester

April-June

Junior
Power Machines
Robotics

Course Description

Junior
Engineers

Course Description

Junior Coding w.
Scratch Junior

Course Description

The benefits of STEM education are many, but take practice and time to learn. NextGen SmartyPants keeps things fun for kids with courses that seem more like playing than learning.

Your child will be offered courses like Coding with Python, Circuits, and Web & App Development at the Middle School level. Help your child build-up their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, so that they will be ready to take on their future

As your child grows over the years in our programs, the complexity and Math skills required of them change as they grow and progress through their grade-levels in school

All Classes are held at the same day and time each week throughout the school year. Class content changes to a different STEAM subject each Semester

Programs in future semesters are subject to change based on availability of trained Teachers and equipment.

Payment

Options

NextGen SmartyPants offers two different payment-plan options:

Tuition for the 2023-24 academic year is $495 per Semester. There are three Semesters per Year. Pay in full, or via a low-cost payment plan option.

Or, register your child for all three of our Semesters this year (ie: thru June-2024) and save $150!

Your child receives high-quality education in multiple STEAM subjects, build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, and have fun while learning

Parents receive a significant cost savings on our tuition, automatic pre-registration, and a predictable after-school schedule all year long.

Holidays, Early-Dismissals, Teacher PD-days, Snow Days, etc. are all incorporated in the price

On these days, road conditions permitting, your child is welcome to join us Free of charge at the same day and time for Classes held at our Maker Studio in Canton, CT

There are no refunds or make-up for missed days. Your child is encouraged to attend every Class possible

As always, our staff is available to assist and answer questions at any time at (860) 272-4000 or hello@nextgensmartypants.org

$149 per month

$447 total

enroll here

$139 per month

$1251 total

enroll here

Same, flat payment each Month. Payments are charged 30-days ahead.

The first payment is made at the time of registration. All subsequent payments are charged during the first week of the month, starting with October.

For "Full Year" families, your last payment will be in May. Your child is automatically enrolled for all programs through the end of the year on June 10, 2024

For "Fall Semester" only families, your last payment will be in November. Enrollment for your child will have to be completed individually based on seats available at the time

Grades 2-3

All NextGen SmartyPants programs designed for Students in Grades 2-3 use Orange icons similar to the ones here: