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The Bethlehem-Center School District is proud to announce it has a received a grant from The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation to develop a STEAM studio of advanced instructional and media arts technologies.
The $115,000 grant will be used to create an innovative learning environment that will not only serve students of the district, but be used to provide professional development in conjunction with Intermediate Unit 1.
“Our district is thankful to The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation for its efforts to support advanced curriculum in our district.” said Bethlehem Center School District Superintendent, Linda Marcolini. “We want to expose and educate our students to the technologies they will encounter in the workforce.”
The district began exploring the idea of creating this new learning space after Elizabeth Forward School District invited district officials to tour the multiple media spaces created in their schools. The district also met with members of The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and expressed their interest in applying for a grant.
Aaron Cornell, Bethlehem-Center High School Principal, connected with Intermediate Unit 1, who provided iPads and boosted internet signal in the school. High school teachers, Ray Van Sickle, who teaches Spanish for grades 9-12 and Vincent Genovese, who teaches US History for eleventh grade began using the iPads in instruction for a pilot program in October 2013. The student and teacher response was overwhelmingly positive. Students provided digital artifacts, replacing paper and pencil activities and were able to submit and receive grades electronically. The success of the pilot program led into professional development throughout the district.
“The partnership between Intermediate Unit 1, Bethlehem-Center School District and The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation proves that a strong collaboration, along with some “outside of the box” thinking, really can change the lens of student learning through the use of technology,” said IU1 Director of Center for Professional Development, Donald Martin. “The award certainly is well deserving, as Bethlehem-Center administrators worked very diligently and collaboratively with our staff on the iPad initiative.”
After seeing the success of the pilot program and being inspired by the spaces at Elizabeth Forward, administrators and teachers began working on their grant application in spring of 2014. In September 2014, the district received a letter notifying them of their award.
“The pilot program showed us a new way of teaching and learning using technology,” said Bethlehem-Center High School Principal, Aaron Cornell. “The students weren’t simply watching a Power Point, they were using apps and creating their own digital work.”
Bethlehem-Center is excited to begin construction on its state of the art STEAM studio. Students will work on project based activities that merge science, math and technology using state of the art technologies that will prepare them for the high tech jobs of the future. The school plans to use Apple products, utilizing curriculum based apps on iPads and Mac Books, bringing art to life with 3D printers, producing videos using a green wall and viewing them on smart TVs. In the STEAM studio, students will produce both digital and tangible artifacts through project based learning activities. Use of the space is expected to increase math and literacy test scores.
The space will be shared with students in kindergarten through eighth grade, ensuring access by all teachers. Other districts of Intermediate Unit 1 will be invited to tour and use the space for professional development, encouraging schools within the consortium to advance technology based curriculum. The district also intends on establishing a partnership with nearby California University of Pennsylvania to bring its students studying education into their technology based classrooms.
Across the country, schools are realizing the benefits of new technologies in the classroom. The Bethlehem-Center School District recognizes the importance of being at the forefront of this movement and providing its students and teachers, as well as other local districts, the chance to hone these skills in high school.
To develop the space, the district will work closely with Elizabeth Forward School District. Construction is expected to begin in October and hopes to be completed before the end of the school year. A final report is due to the foundation by July 2014.
The Bethlehem-Center School District (bc.k12.pa.us) is a public school district located in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The K-12 district encompasses the Boroughs of Beallsville, Centerville, Deemston and Marianna and East Bethlehem Township and West Bethlehem Township. The mission of the Bethlehem-Center School District is to challenge the academic and social potential of all students through the cooperative efforts of the school community.
The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is an independent foundation established in 1944 by Michael and Sarah Benedum, natives respectively of Bridgeport and Blacksville, West Virginia. The Foundation’s assets at year-end 2013 were just under $377,250, 000. Since its inception in 1944, the Foundation has made more than 7,900 grants totaling over $426,350, 000.
During his lifetime in the oil and gas business, Michael Benedum amassed a fortune, ranking him in his day among the 100 wealthiest Americans. Michael Benedum operated his worldwide business from corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Benedum established residence in Pittsburgh in 1907 and lived here for over 50 years. They named the Foundation in memory of their only child, Claude Worthington Benedum, who died in 1918 at age 20. In creating the Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Benedum expressed the wish that grantmaking be focused in West Virginia and Pittsburgh, their native and adopted homes.
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