Frank Schofield, superintendent, Logan City School District
Our mission in the Logan City School District is to “ensure all students leave our schools ready to create a positive future for themselves and their community.” Students come to us with a variety of talents and interests, and our goal is to help nurture those talents and interests so students are prepared to chart a course for their personal success after high school graduation.
For some students, their interests align with traditional academic structures and goals (i.e., AP classes, Fine Arts), and those structures are what will best help them succeed. For other students, different structures and activities will help them find relevance in their studies, and make connections to their long-term goals.
One example of the opportunities our students have is called the Greenpower USA. Through this program, teams of students design, build and race electric cars in an event that qualifies them to participate in a national race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Our students are required to work with their team to create the most streamlined, wellbuilt car they can in an effort to complete the greatest number of laps around the track in 90 minutes. It requires teamwork, engineering, math, problem solving and communication between team members.
I recently attended a Greenpower event and watched as our students demonstrated all of these behaviors. Just before the race, there was a problem with their power source, so students had to quickly troubleshoot in order to be ready for the race (which they were). During the race they identified ways to improve communication between the car driver and the pit crew, and consistently provide positive support to one another. I loved seeing the positive interactions between the students, and the skills they developed through the process were skills that will help them succeed in their future endeavors. Additionally, our students were able to see the concrete outcomes of their work. Their efforts to design and build a working electric race car had been successful, and they were now reaping the benefits.
These experiences, and others like them, are the kinds of opportunities that help us ensure all students leave our schools ready to create a positive future for themselves and their community. These experiences create context for what students learn in schools, and help young adults identify their individual skills and future interests.
We currently have Greenpower teams at Logan High and Mount Logan Middle School, and are looking to expand into the elementary grades. I invite you and your children to join those teams.
