When asked how Penn State New Kensington’s ABC Create programming has enhanced their students’ learning, Burrell School District technology teachers were quick to answer.
Students at Bon Air Elementary learned how to operate small, mobile “Dash robots” to code assignments, putting their math, engineering and technology skills to the test, said teacher Brooke Miller.
Stewart Elementary students worked on science and physics skills with another robot, called a Sphero Bolt, STEAM teacher April Sites said. With Penn State New Kensington’s STEAM Club, Stewart also hosted a STEAM Night where students collaborated for a popular robotics activity.
And Huston Middle School teacher Courtney Barbiaux will teach her students to code, design and program movements from a Hummingbird robotics kit, something she learned from a professional development session through ABC Create.
“Giving kids access to engaging, relevant and meaningful learning experiences is essential,” said Autumn Turk, Burrell’s director of curriculum and development. “We’ve really seen our teachers become re-energized and excited.
“It’s opened our opportunities — our teachers have become learners alongside our students.”
ABC Create, a partnership between all Alle-Kiski Valley school districts and other organizations, is spearheaded by Penn State New Kensington, which is at risk of closing.
The Upper Burrell-based campus is one of 12 Penn State branch campuses statewide that is on the potential chopping block because of finances, demographic shifts and declining enrollment.
Robert Harris, instructional technology coordinator for Freeport Area School District, said he isn’t sure what would happen at his school district if Penn State New Kensington closes.
“It’s providing a substantial amount of uncertainty,” Harris said.
Harris, like other local school district leaders, say the resources and support ABC Create provides is invaluable.
“It would be a void with some of our professional development,” Turk said. With the training and technology equipment ABC Create provides, “that’s something we wouldn’t be able to do on our own, or afford to do on our own.”
ABC Create was formed in 2014 for school districts in the Alle-Kiski Valley to work together and integrate technology and project-based learning in their classrooms.
It’s coordinated by Penn State New Kensington and includes partnerships with the Grable Foundation, Arconic and the Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment Lab at Carnegie Mellon University.
ABC Create offers a vast array of professional learning opportunities for teachers, Harris said. He referenced sessions with CodeJoy, a Pittsburgh-based business that promotes STEAM and coding learning. It also coordinates a School2School STEAM showcase where teachers in the collaborative show the work they’ve done with students over the years.
“Because of the work of ABC Create, we’ve had so many teachers learn to integrate STEAM instruction in our classrooms,” Harris said. “If not for ABC Create, the knowledge of our teachers would not be where it is. .”
Partnerships via ABC Create have had an “indelible impact” on the Apollo-Ridge School District, said Travis Barta, middle school principal and curriculum coordinator.
“ABC Create works tirelessly to connect teachers across school districts with professional learning communities, tools and best practices to develop competent and technologically fluent students,” Barta said.
Professional development and training facilitated by ABC Create has increased Apollo-Ridge’s STEAM programming, Barta said.
At Burrell, ABC Create’s partnership had started as a professional development and networking opportunity for STEM teachers and has since become available to all teachers. It’s also assisted with a mandated, statewide shift to STEELS — Science, Technology and Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Academic — standards, Turk said.
Sixth grade students at Huston are building a mini-golf hole made out of cardboard and are using Hummingbird kits to make the course interactive, Barbiaux said.
The assignment ties into an English class, as the courses are designed off of characters in books students have read. For example, a hole designed after Zeus in Greek mythology incorporated a moving lightning bolt coded by a Hummingbird kit and controlled by an iPad.
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The robot kits, and other technology, come from Penn State New Kensington’s lending library. Burrell pays a $2,500 fee annually to belong to the lending library to check out the equipment for lessons, which saves the district money, Barbiaux said. Teachers also can coordinate cross-district to compare lessons with the equipment they use.
Barbiaux said ABC Create is a convenient and accessible tool for Alle-Kiski Valley school districts like Burrell.
“If it was any farther away, we wouldn’t be able to do these types of things,” she said. “It’s different to go to a professional development 10 minutes away than 45 minutes away. With the lending library, I can go pick things up on my lunch break, whereas, if it was Westmoreland County, that could be different to organize and get there.”
Turk said collaborations between ABC Create and the Digital Foundry — a Penn State New Kensington-coordinated business development service — have been vital to older students as they consider future careers.
“That’s opened up a new manufacturing opportunity for our middle school and high school kids,” Turk said.
“Many of our kids do go to Penn State New Kensington. It’s been a great resource for our kids; that they can live at home and still get a quality education.”
Freeport teachers have benefited from ABC Create, which in turn, benefits students, Harris said.
“At Freeport, we are always looking to do what’s best for providing new educational opportunities for our students,” he said. “Because of the work of ABC Create, we have been able to enable our teachers to develop these new and innovative lessons.
“Without the support of ABC Create, I don’t know if it would happen.”