Meet the educators behind Dakota STEAM

Jamie Bennett and Deanna Vallone are teachers-turned-entrepreneurs who make learning active, accessible, and memorable, so kids experiment, build, design, and discover instead of sitting and listening.

Our story

After COVID, we saw a huge shift in education where computers were brought in, e-learning began, and kids’ creativity disappeared. Dakota STEAM Learning started in 2022 with one simple belief: every student deserves opportunities to explore, create, problem-solve, and discover what they’re capable of through hands-on learning.

We rented a classroom at a church to bring STEAM to homeschool families, afterschool programs, and events. We hosted STEAM nights at breweries, created take-home kits, and then started with one public school, teaching K-5 students for 2.5 hours while their teachers got planning time. Teachers loved it: no prep, no sub notes, more planning time.

Now we pack up and travel to four local elementary schools each week, teaching about 1,500 students every month. In the summer we take STEAM to other towns, family engagement nights, PTA fundraisers, and our own camps. We truly believe in STEAM Anywhere!

Our approach

Most STEAM activities give step-by-step instructions. We don’t.

Every Dakota STEAM challenge presents students with an open-ended problem, one with multiple possible solutions, not one right answer. Students design, build, test, and try again. The iterative process is where the learning happens.

We also know a teacher who has 30 minutes during specials doesn’t have time for an activity that needs three days of prep. Everything we build is designed for that teacher: ready to use, genuinely engaging, and easy to adapt.

Co-founder · Operations, products & marketing

Jamie Bennett

Hi, I’m Jamie! I tell people all the time, “Deanna creates the product, and I help manage it!” STEAM wasn’t always in my background. People told me to plug it into my classroom like it was easy, but I struggled without training or even a basic lesson plan. I met Deanna at dinner with our firefighter husbands. It was a match! I grew up on a farm and ranch in a town of 1,000 and rodeoed through high school. Today my family loves biking, hiking, and skiing in the Black Hills.

B.S. Education, Black Hills State University
M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction (Mathematics), Concordia University
7 years 5th grade · 3 years 7th grade math
2 years adjunct, BHSU math methods
SD Mentorship Program mentor

Co-founder · Writes every lesson

Deanna Vallone

Hey, I’m Deanna! In 2015 my family moved cross-country and I became a K-5 21st-century specials teacher. Within months I knew STEAM was the way to help kids become true 21st-century learners. I write every single lesson we create and personally teach it multiple times before it’s ever available to you. Our 1,500 students a month give me a lot of feedback! When I’m not teaching, you’ll find me hiking the Black Hills, planning a National Park adventure, or hosting game night.

B.A. UC Santa Barbara (History/Cultural Anthropology, Education minor)
CA & SD K-8 teaching credentials
2020–21 Teacher of the Year, Knollwood Elementary
4 years 5th grade (CA) · 5 years K-5 STEAM (SD)
Conscious Discipline mentor teacher

Scout the fox, Dakota STEAM Learning’s mascot

Meet Scout

Our friendly STEAM mascot

Instead of being created by AI, Scout was thoughtfully designed by Jamie’s talented sister, Charley, who also crafted our logo. Scout pops up across our lesson slides, highlighting important points along the way. With a curious nature, adaptability, and clever problem-solving skills, Scout is passionate about supporting every student’s STEAM journey.

Now Scout helps grown-ups too: click him in the corner of any page and he’ll find the perfect lesson for you.