Latest news with #ProjectLeadtheWay
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville D203 to spend $7 million on renovations to Kennedy Junior High
A $7 million renovation project at Kennedy Junior High School is to begin next summer under a plan approved Monday by the Naperville District 203 School Board. The project would eliminate four outdoor pod classrooms used for more than 25 years and convert an underutilized, inaccessible interior courtyard into classrooms for Project Lead the Way courses, said Lisa Xagas, the district's assistant superintendent for strategy and engagement. The space should be ready for use by winter/early spring 2027. Family and Consumer Sciences classes also will be renovated for use starting in the 2026-27 school year. The outdoor pods will be decommissioned and removed by the end of 2026-27 school year, according to district documents. Renovation work will increase the classroom capacity at Kennedy Junior High School, 2929 Green Trails Drive, Lisle, which is one of the highest enrolled junior high schools in the district. The school is projected to house more than 900 students annually for the next three years, Xagas said. It also provides students with more technology, space and opportunities to discover their passions through problem-solving learning, she said. 'What we do is give students experiences that set them up for success when they leave us,' she said. In the Family and Consumer Sciences, students learn topics such as culinary and nutrition studies and hospitality and food service industry work. By 8th grade, they become entrepreneurs and have to create, pitch and market a product. Students have created everything from candles to T-shirts to robots and used 3-D printers or sewing skills as part of their 'Shark Tank'-style entrepreneurship course, Xagas said Project Lead the Way courses include such STEM topics as computer programming and robotics. District officials said the renovations, which also have been done at other junior high schools, help prepare students for college and careers by exposing them to the new technology. In 8th grade, students create a flexible four-year plan for high school to help guide them. 'They start to think even in 8th grade, what is a pathway or an interest that I have for four years of high school,' Xagas said. 'If we give them more exposure to that in middle school, they are more prepared.' The middle school courses also help students better decide which topics they like or don't like, she said. Final renovation design work will be completed this summer, and the project is expected to go to bid in the fall, district documents said. At the Monday meeting, the school board also approved its 2025-26 budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. Revenue in the new fiscal year is expected to be about $355.6 million, a 3.29% increase over the 2024-25 budget, said Michael Frances, the district's chief financial officer. Expenditures are projected to be $379.5 million, with about $22.2 million spent on one-time capital improvement projects to be funded with money accrued in savings over several years. The projects include an addition to Ranch View Elementary School in Naperville and improvements at Naperville North High School and Connections Transition Services. The budget calls for a new literacy curriculum for all students at a cost of $3.2 million spread out over three years, replacing curriculum that had been implemented in 2024. The update supports foundational reading skills, vocabulary development, advanced comprehension and writing instruction, Xagas said last month. Start-up costs for a girls' flag football program at Naperville Central and Naperville North high schools are also covered in the spending plan. The Illinois High School Association debuted girls flag football in fall 2024. Additionally, funds are also being allocated for a new support staff mentoring program and a staff leadership academy. Newly elected board members Marc Willensky and Holly Blastic said Monday they appreciated that district administrators took the time to explain the budget process to them. The first-time board members were elected in April and sworn in last month. Other board members thanked the administration for its work in preparing the budget. 'You can tell when somebody really understands something because they can explain it to you in 15 different ways,' board President Charles Cush said. '… It's good to know that we are in really great hands.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Caterpillar turns 100, celebrates with Waco employees
Waco, Tx (FOX 44) – A century of American history of big yellow tractors was on display in Waco Friday. Caterpillar, known for its tracked, yellow machines celebrated its centennial at its Waco distribution facility. Local employees go to tour a mobile museum displaying the company's 100-year history and go to use simulators to test their skills as bulldozer operators. In conjunction with the event, the Caterpillar Foundation donated $11,000 to the Family Abuse Center. Here in Waco, The Foundation's current grant with Project Lead the Way will provide over 150 high school students in Waco with computer science and engineering classes over the next two years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Local elementary students use technology to help chick with broken leg
SEBRING, Ohio (WKBN) — Sixth-grade students at Beatrice L. Miller Elementary School are using technology to help a baby chick born with a broken leg. The chick was born down the hallway from the sixth graders as part of third grade's annual 'chick hatching' project. When students learned that one chick was born with a broken leg, they hatched a plan to help, according to a news release from a district spokesperson. Mrs. Naples' sixth-grade classroom is outfitted with a 3D printer as part of a 'Project Lead the Way' technology program. Earlier in the school year, students completed an orthosis project in which they created braces using the 3D printer for cerebral palsy patients. The project challenged students to create various prototypes for braces, scaling them to a variety of sizes, the release stated. The students used this technology to help the chick named 'Tiny,' using the 3D printer to make a brace for the chick's leg. 'This is a full-circle learning experience for our students. They are applying a previous lesson to create a real-world solution. Plus, they are helping a chick and fellow classmates. It has been rewarding to see students excited about what they are learning,' said Sebring B.L. Miller Elementary Principal Nichole Hanley. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville District 203 wants to add more engineering, social studies and PE classes to high school lineup
Students at Naperville North and Central high schools may be able to take new engineering, social studies and physical education classes in the 2026-27 school year. The Naperville District 203 School Board is expected to vote April 21 on adding more courses to the high school offerings while eliminating a few with declining enrollment or whose material may be covered in another class. On Monday, the board heard a presentation on the proposed changes. 'I'm always impressed watching the evolution of any of our subjects and seeing how we make such an effort to keep things relevant,' board President Kristine Gericke said. Some of the new courses will offer college credit, such as the Principles of Engineering and Civil Engineering and Architecture, which are to be offered as part of the Project Lead the Way sequence. Students can learn engineering, robotics, 3-D modeling and programming in the Principles of Engineering courses, a course description said. Students also can work with 3D architectural design software in the Civil Engineering and Architecture course. The district is also looking to add a Project Lead the Way Capstone course that expands on the engineering program for the 2027-28 school year. Jayne Willard, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said the district selects new courses based on industry trends, student interest, future careers and post-secondary preparation. The district's staff evaluates its courses to ensure they are still relevant and have enough rigor or if new ones should be developed to fill a need, she said. 'The primary focus of our visioning work is to create learning experiences that actively engage students in meaningful ways and equip students for both academic success and future careers,' she said. Three new semester-long social studies courses are under review and will be voted by the board on later this month. They are Criminal Justice, Modern American History Through Media and Taking Action: Issues and Solutions. In the Criminal Justice course, students can explore crime, law enforcement, and the court and corrections systems while analyzing the impact of laws and policies on society, a course description said. Students taking Modern American History Through Media will learn how television, music and art of the 1980s, '90s and today shaped American society, politics, culture and technology. The Taking Action class will offer students a chance to analyze and address real-world issues in their communities, according to the course description. 'The wide range of elective course offerings encourages many students to exceed the 2½ credit requirement,' said Steve Jeretina, assistant principal at Naperville Central. The district also will offer Cultural Anthropology to understand and value diverse cultures, which will replace World Cultures, he said. About 2,300 high school students were surveyed to gauge their interest, Jeretina said. New physical education courses are also under consideration. A Coaching and Officiating class will give students the resources to be IHSA-certified in officiating a sport of their choice, opening up opportunities to work as an official at local athletic events, Jeretina said. It also promotes leadership, responsibility and career readiness in sports management, he said. Sophomore students will have a chance to pick a physical education course based on their interests and fitness goals in three new semester-long classes. The Studio Wellness option focuses on group exercise such as yoga, pilates or Zumba and stress management. The Strength and Performance option will feature resistance training, injury prevention and nutrition while the Competitive Team Sports option allows students to participate in a variety of group sports, such as basketball, football, soccer, floor hockey, volleyball, pickleball and others. Board member Melissa Kelley Black said she appreciated they were giving students healthy lifestyle habits, which is beneficial for both physical and mental health. In addition to World Cultures, courses removed for low enrollment, limited interest or content duplicated in other classes include Humanities II, Legal Issues, Peace and Conflict and Painting 2. For instance, the Peace and Conflict course had a 50% decline in enrollment over the last four years and not enough interest to be offered at both high schools this year, district officials said. With board approval, the classes would be dropped in the 2026-27 school year.
Chicago Tribune
27-02-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Gary students using chemistry to solve 'crime'
A fictional crime has been committed and students at Gary's Williams Elementary are sniffing out clues with guidance from the Chemistry Club at Indiana University Northwest. 'Today, we will look at how we're going to solve a crime using fingerprints,' said faculty adviser Linda Wozniewski, IU Northwest lecturer of Chemistry and Physics. On Tuesday, the students learned the three basic types of fingerprints and 'everyone out of billions of people have different fingerprints,' Wozniewski told them. They learned to 'lift' their own fingerprints using tape. The students also learned how to analyze liquids by conducting pH tests. The students in grades K-5 sat around round tables arrayed with vials of liquids including lemon juice, vinegar, ammonia, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. About 25 students are part of Williams' after-school STEM Club, short for science, technology, engineering and math. The once-a-month workshop with IUN began in August. The students spend half the year in the chemistry club's program and the other half in a robotics program taught by local electricians. Tomeka Pope, who teaches Project Lead the Way STEM classes at Williams, organized the club and said the school is on the cusp of attaining its accreditation as a STEM school. Aubrianna Coulter, 8, said she enjoys science and all the projects they've completed, especially the tasty ones. 'The last time we had cupcakes.' A few minutes later she dipped a test stick into an ammonia vial and watched in wonder as it turned green. IUN Chemistry Club member Rami Alnahass, a sophomore biochemistry major, told them the composition was the opposite of acidic. 'Its pH is 8,' he told them. The students learned that pH is the quantitative measure of acidity or basicity in liquid solutions. Next, they dropped text sticks into a vial of vinegar and the sticks turned reddish brown, indicating more acidity or pH 4. Hamza Nasar, IUN Chemistry Club president and a neuroscience major from Chesterton, said each lesson builds upon the next one until the students gain the skills they need to solve a crime at the end of the workshop. He said the idea for the after-school workshop began last summer when Chemistry Club members did a demonstration at Williams' STEM open house. 'The kids loved it and Professor 'Woz' (Wozniewski) was crucial to me for the curriculum, she teaches forensics,' he said. 'It's honestly really rewarding,' he said. 'I didn't think they'd be interested in the experiments. I was surprised,' said Nasar. 'I'm glad to be able to serve the community.' Fifth grader Steven Williams, 10, said he's already contemplating a career in science. 'I like doing science and STEM,' he said. 'I like technology and the fingerprints.' He said he watches a few crime shows, but not many. 'Science is my favorite subject,' he said. Nasar said he hopes the workshop provides students with experiences he didn't have when he was growing up. 'I hope they take away that science isn't intimidating. It's a fun career path.'
