LOS ANGELES, CA, January 14, 2011 – An innovative, game and media-based charter school is being planned to launch in the greater Los Angeles area in August 2012 by the GameDesk Institute through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  The GameDesk School’s pedagogy will revolve around authorship practices, harnessing the appeal of games, mechanical and electrical tinkering, and film and media creation to engage underrepresented urban youth in STEM fields.

“We will create opportunities to marvel and offer meaningful learning in the form of play and creation,” explained Lucien Vattel, GameDesk Executive Director.  The school will open in the fall of 2012 with approximately 80 sixth graders, expanding to cover grades 6 through 12 in subsequent years.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded the planning of the school and the development of novel curriculum design tools for the school’s rollout in the coming year.