The Pennsbury School District is adding a new “special” to the elementary school schedule.
In addition to the physical education, music, art, and library, kindergarten to fifth grade students will be able to take part in the weekly SPARK program, which uses Chromebooks.
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“SPARK is an innovative elementary literacy and problem-solving program based on STEM principles that is meant to ‘spark’ curiosity and learning,” said Michele Spack, Pennsbury’s director of elementary education, who is the lead administrator overseeing the initiative. “In staffing this new program, we sought experienced teachers who have familiarity with teaching elementary and/or middle level literacy, mathematics, and science, along with other aspects of Inquiry-Based Learning.”
Pennsbury has selected 10 staff members to teach SPARK classes starting this upcoming school year. The teachers selected are: Terri Boileau, Catherine Cantrell, Mackenzie Carpenter, Mark Costanzo, Kara Covello, Kristy Davis, Lynn Holmes, Rebecca Obert-Thorn, Terri Sherman, and Kristin Slota.
“In addition to enabling students to explore the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum, SPARK classes will also offer opportunities to code, learn key concepts regarding digital citizenship, and create projects using the Genius Hour framework. The foundation of the curriculum will be the interdisciplinary modules of the PLTW ‘Launch’ program. These empower students through compelling activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the world around them. Students will develop perseverance, design thinking, resilience, and kinetic knowledge through real-world applications of these skills,” the district said in a statement.
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Prior to the district adding Chromebooks for student use, Pennsbury offered weekly computer classes. The courses were eliminated when Chromebooks were added to classrooms.
SPARK teachers took part in trainings at William Penn Middle School in Lower Makefield that included two trainers from Project Lead the Way last week, district spokesperson Ann Langtry said.
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The district said the introduction of Project Lead the Way will cost approximately $9,500 for initial training and about $95,000 for materials the first year.
Going forward, the material costs for the program are expected to come in at about $27,000 per year.
