BOCA RATON, Fla. — A classroom algebra lesson can create quite a buzz when it opens young eyes to a lifetime of possibilities. It is what they do every day at Florida Atlantic University's Alexander D. Henderson University School for grades K-12.
WPTV watched Preston Hoover, and his buddies, in a learning lab flying a drone. He said the hands-on experience reinforces the value of what he is learning in class.
"Science is going to help with many things," Preston said, "such as when you try to code a drone to do something."
The school's superintendent Joel Herbst said learning labs are beneficial to students.
"This is a different approach to educating students and it gets that science and math to stick," he said.
Fun and opportunity is within reach in the science lab, the flight simulator lab and the math class. Science, technology, engineering and math—the STEM subjects—are at the heart of this public school's mission.
"I often say", Herbst told WPTV, " when I speak to people about math and science, this country is at a Sputnik moment right now."
Scripps News
US math and reading scores drop to their lowest levels in decades
It is a race for the high ground that U.S. students are often losing. In one recent international math test, U.S. students scored lower than peers in 36 other countries. Other studies indicate the huge majority of American high school students are not ready for STEM courses in college.
"There is a crisis in this country relative to the math and sciences. I would take it a little bit further and say it's probably the number one national security focus we should have," Herbst said. "All these students we have in these schools now, they are going to fill the jobs of the future, so the notion of computer programming, artificial intelligence, flying, pilots, the rocket industry. "
Jobs for the taking, but only if an educated workforce can seize them. At A.D. Henderson, administrators said students are doubling the state averages on math and science scores.
"Our mission really is to serve as a laboratory school to investigate a variety of different techniques and teaching and prove what is working and what is not," Herbst said, "then spread [that] across Florida and the U.S."
On a mission to secure a future for young minds and all who will count on them to lead the way.