LYNN — KIPP Academy continues to lead the way with its engineering curriculum.
KIPP is one of 148 middle schools across the U.S. to be recognized as a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Distinguished School. The recognition comes from its full student participation last school year with PLTW Gateway, a hands-on program that helps all students develop STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) knowledge and transportable skills.
“Lynn is the first KIPP school nationally to get recognized like this,” said Jay Galbraith, secondary science achievements leader for KIPP Massachusetts. “This just shows that we really think all kids deserve to be exposed to engineering and be able to try it themselves.”
To be eligible for the honor, the Lynn school had to offer at least one PLTW Gateway unit at each grade level, have at least 50 percent of the student body participate, and have 25 percent of students advancing to high school participate in two or more units during their middle school tenure.
Each grade had a different, month-long project to work on in their science class, according to Galbraith. The fifth-graders focused on Computer Science for Innovators and Makers, which taught them basic coding and physical computing. Some students made wearable watches while others made a detector that would flash after someone crossed the street.
The Flight and Space Curriculum for the sixth-graders taught students the different types of aircrafts and how the shape of a wing causes flight. They designed gliders, tested them using a computer program, then built them with wood.
Seventh-grade students learned the Magic of Electrons, which taught them how to build circuits to accomplish different tasks. The Design and Modeling course taught the eighth-graders computer-aided design (CAD), the use of computers to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design.
The oldest middle school students used their creativity to design toys for children with cerebral palsy, a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture. They used software to design the toys and 3D printers to bring them to life, according to Galbraith. The top student groups presented their toys to doctors and teachers at Boston Children’s Hospital.
“We want every single kid in our school to have an opportunity to take part in an authentic engineering project,” Galbraith said. “We are continuously working toward that goal.”
Not only does the Lynn academy plan to keep the program in its middle school, it plans to expand PLTW to the high school with a one-year course that will be built into a three-year pathway. Galbraith said they also hope to incorporate the program into the elementary school at some point.
“KIPP’s whole mission is to give kids choice-filled lives,” said Galbraith. “STEM, engineering, problem solving, and science are huge roles that have traditionally not been open to all students. Our students have those opportunities.”
