Plymouth Community School Corporation (PCSC) announced Friday that all four of their Project Based Learning (PBL) schools are the first Kindergarten through 12th grade streamline in the entire country to be deemed Exemplary Schools and all National Demonstration Sites for the New Tech Network (NTN) for the 2016-2017 school year.
PCSC Director of PBL, Amy Gerard said, “We just received word from New Tech Network officials that our PBL junior high, Innovation Academy @ Lincoln, has been approved for Demonstration Site status in the New Tech Network for the 2016-17 school year. Our administrators and teachers have worked diligently to perfect the NTN structure for educating our students and receiving Exemplary status in all of our PBL schools is extremely rewarding. ”
NTN President and CEO, Lydia Dobyns said, “With the attainment of New Tech National Demonstration Site status for Innovation Academy @ Lincoln, Innovation Academy at Riverside, Washington Discovery Academy, and Weidner School of Inquiry @ PHS, Plymouth Community School Corporation is the first school district in the country to achieve these high standards of teaching and learning for grades K-12. This national milestone is the direct result of a powerful community vision and the unwavering dedication by teachers and principals to bring the New Tech school model to every learner. Our partnership with Plymouth provides compelling evidence that public school districts can provide relevant and innovative education that truly prepares graduates for success in college, career, and civic life.”
This is the third year in a row both the Innovation Academy @ Riverside and the Weidner School of Inquiry @ Plymouth High School has received this honor, and the second year in a row that Washington Discovery Academy received this distinctive honor.
Superintendent Dan Tyree said, “We are very proud to be the first in the country to have a K-12 streamline of PBL schools that have proven to operate as an exemplary example of the New Tech mission – to help students gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life, college, and the careers of tomorrow.”
Demonstration Site schools play a key role in the development and scale of the New Tech Network as well. All four schools will host tours for national, state, and local schools and districts to experience a New Tech school firsthand.
Innovation Academy @ LJH Principal Reid Gault said, “Our teachers have truly worked hard for Innovation Academy @ LJH to achieve the new Tech Network Demonstration Site statue. We have attended national conferences and continue ongoing professional development to be able to consistently keep our learners engaged in hands-on innovative NTN learning environments.”
Tyree said, “We embrace visits from other schools at all of our PBL schools and we are committed to continue to implement the New Tech model. Achieving this New Tech National Demonstration Site Exemplary status can give parents the reassurance that their students will be able to be educated in a Project Based Learning environment from kindergarten all the way through to graduation.”
The four PCSC NTN Demonstration Site Exemplary schools are as follows:
· Washington Discovery Academy – (K-4)
· Innovation Academy @ Riverside – (5-6)
· Innovation Academy @ Lincoln – (7-8)
· Weidner School of Inquiry @ Plymouth High School – (9-12)
Open enrollment registration for all Plymouth Community School Corporation K-12 PBL schools is currently underway. The application process will close at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2017.
