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The first thing that comes to mind in education here in Porterville in the past 10 years is the sheer advances in technology. The Pathways and the Academies in Porterville Unified and Burton districts have brought middle and high school students many choices in technological learning.

All the Pathways and Academies in both local school systems all have acronyms, and theyre all ways for students to get involved in learning new career options. The PUSD Pathways were originally implemented in Fall of 2011, and there are now 14 Pathway choices.

The new Pathways or Linked Learning, gives students additional opportunities to explore career possibilities. There are Pathways at the high schools in environmental science, business, health, emerging agriculture technology, performing arts, engineering, manufacturing, construction and technology, Academy of Energy and resource occupations, computer operations, and Academy of Career in Education, Law, Justice and Ethics, Multimedia and Technology, and Hospitality.

Big impacts on education in PUSD, Erik Santos, Pathways Learning Director, describes as:

PUSD Pathways expanding to 14 open-choice career-themed pathways, preparing students for both college and careers.

Qualcomm technology partnering with PUSD to create the Future Ready Lab, giving all students in the community engineering and coding experiences at an early age.

High school students obtaining internships all across the valley, gaining real-world experience before even going to college. And the creation of STEAM (science, technology, electronics, art, and math) Labs in all 10 PUSD elementary school sites, allowing hands on learning for every student.

Local and statewide business and community leaders engaging as partners with PUSD in Career Technical Education (CTE).

And the partnering of PUSD withPorterville College to allow dual enrollment with college credit courses at every high school site.

The opening of Porterville Military Academy (PMA), bringing the total to 6 PUSD high school sites.

And the Pathways programs being recognized at the national level for their strong impact on students and education (numerous NAF Distinguished Academies, National Blue Ribbon School for Harmony Magnet Academy, and the Sandy Weill Award).

The creation of high tech, state of the art, CTE Labs at PUSD high school sites, such as Engineering lab at HMA, CODE Lab at Granite Hills High School, Forensics & Courtroom Lab at GHHS (in construction), Environmental Science labs at Monache High School, and Health Science labs at Porterville High School.

Also the district partnering with Garner Holt Productions to bring an Animaker Space Lab to Porterville, where students learn the ins and outs of programming animatronic figurines, just like those at Disney and other amusement parks lab will be in construction in 2019.

The Academy of Digital Design, (ADDI), is the newest academy addition to Summit Charter Collegiate Academy (SCCA), and its designed for students to develop creative and technical skills to spark innovation. The goal of the academy is to give students confidence and the skills necessary to create a business and organization proposals by the end of their senior year.

ADDI is an interdisciplinary and cross-curricular approach designed for students in media arts, to empower students to believe, design, and manifest their ideas for the future and graduate leaders who collaborate, communicate, and problem-solve and create.

Then there are the new buildings that go with them, such as the Law, Justice, and Ethics Center thats being built at Granite Hills High School.

Then there are the schools, that 10 years ago, people might have thought about, such as the Porterville Military Academy (PMA), thats changing the way some young people are taught, with an emphasis on leadership by example and skills based learning and academic excellence.PMA cadets dont have to go into the military, but they do wear military style uniforms, and drill and maintain physical fitness and well being. The schools mission is to develop 21st century leaders, who will be agents of change in business, politics, and public service. The school instills civic responsibility in students.

Also the Summit Charter Lombardi Campus and the one year old Summit Charter Intermediate Academy are both International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in the Burton School District, schools that were built between 2009 and 2019.

Summit Charter Intermediate Academy (SCIA) built in 2018 students is designed to provide a well-rounded education, plus students study Spanish in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, with classes focused on conversational Spanish, learning about Hispanic culture, traditions. The overall education aims to develop perspectives targeting international-mindedness.

Robert Styles, from the Multimedia and Technology Academy at Monache High School explained the various technical innovations being used in the Porterville school system, technologies. They are as follows:

Career Technical Education is expanding, and the classes teach students a technical skill. This includes a variety of courses including culinary, welding, and video production. These classes prepare students for a career in one of these fields, and often include certifications as part of the process. CTE classes have been steadily expanding over the last decade. Students get to use industry-standard equipment and work with industry professionals in various internship and work-based learning opportunities.

Smartphones can be used in the classroom for educational purposes. One website in particular, Kahoot, benefits from the use of phones. Its a website that allows teachers to create quizzes and students use their phones as a sort of buzzer to submit their responses. The top scores in the class are displayed on a projector screen in front of the entire class.

Cloud storage such as Google Drive is beneficial because students can collaborate with their peers and work on assignments in various locations. Students can upload files to Google Drive, share the file with another student who needs to receive the file, and it does all this with a great amount of ease. Cloud storage also allows students to begin working on an assignment in one location, and then pick it up and finish it in an entirely different location on a different computer.

Using a computer or a smartphone, students can now access class materials that are available online and work remotely from any location.

Monache High School has an AP Computer Science class in which students learn how to do computer coding. Coding is required to make any computer program or phone app work, and the behind the scenes aspect of these apps/programs are necessary but often unseen. Students learn to create their own apps during their time in this class.

REMIND is a communication app for educators, Styles says is helpful. It allows teachers to send messages to an entire class of students straight to their smartphones. And through the app, messages can be sent and received, without the educator or student seeing the other persons phone number. This way privacy is maintained, while also opening the opportunity for more communication between educators and their students, as well as their parents.

Google Classroom is a website that allows teachers to create their own classes online, and it gives them a space to post announcements, assignments, quizzes, discussions, and other class-related information thats relevant for students. It integrates well with Google Drive and Google Docs, and does so in an organized way that makes its use intuitive for teachers and students alike.

The Multimedia & Technology Academy at MHS, received a grant for an Oculus Rift, which is one of the top Virtual Reality devices available. This headset allows users to enter into a new world, and it can be used in a variety of ways including simulation of surgery for aspiring medical students and exploring a museum students wouldnt otherwise have access to because its on another continent.

There are 3D printers at Monache High and Harmony Magnet Academy, and the new technology allows students to access their full creative potential, said Styles. Our Graphic Design students can transform their concepts into physical objects that occupy space in reality. Architectural design students can create models of their concept as well. The possibilities are limitless with this new technology.

Kindergarten through 12th grade students no longer paper-pencil tests, theyre all taken electronically on computer. And state tests, like Californias statewide student assessment system (CAASPP) and The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC), are taken electronically.

No Child Left Behind Ended in 2015, said Stuemky, and the Dashboard Accountability System is now in place. Californias accountability system is based on multiple measures that assess how local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools are meeting the needs of their students.

Hand held devices are used in K-12 grades in all PUSD classrooms.iPads and Chrome books are now used for classroom use and testing purposes.

Blackboards are no longer used in classrooms.Teachers have Interactive whiteboards allowing them to use technology to support different learning modalities of students.

Most PUSD teachers are using Google Classroom to implement student remote learning.Google classroom is a web-based service allowing a streamline process of sharing files between teacher and students.

Dictionary and encyclopedia use has changed, said Stuemky. Students use the Internet, google search, and they use Google translate, which helps support English Learning students from kindergarten to 12 in their efforts to be fluent in English.

College Dual Enrollment Courses are available to high school students, where they can earn up to 11 credits per semester starting their sophomore year.

Read more from the original source:
Age of Innovation: Learning from Infinity and Beyond - Porterville Recorder