DeKalb Central extending New Tech concept
DeKalb Central extending New Tech concept
Posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 11:00 pm | Updated: 10:58 am, Thu Feb 20, 2014.
BY KATHRYN BASSETT
kbassett@kpcmedia.com
WATERLOO — The DeKalb Central school district will expand its New Tech program to the middle-school and elementary-school levels beginning with the 2014-15 school year.
Tuesday night, the DeKalb Central school board approved an agreement with the New Tech network to implement a New Tech “school within a school” at DeKalb Middle School and a New Tech “whole school” at Waterloo Elementary School.
New Tech schools focus on project-based learning, collaboration and integration of technology.
The district is in its second year of offering a New Tech program at DeKalb High School.
In a memo to the board, Assistant Superintendent Lynn Simmers said, “The implementation of the New Tech model for our middle school and elementary students will enable us to equip our students with the knowledge and skill sets they need to succeed in life, college and the careers of tomorrow.”
Using the approach of project-based learning, students will have many opportunities to collaborate on projects that will require critical thinking, problem solving, innovation and communication, Simmers said in the memo. Students also will learn life and career skills such as flexibility, initiative, self-direction, leadership, productivity and social skills as they work on real-world projects and collaborate in teams, Simmers added.
