Science Leadership Academy
Encyclopedia
The Science Leadership Academy is a magnet public high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, which opened in September 2006. SLA is a partnership between The Franklin Institute
and the School District of Philadelphia
. SLA is a 1:1 project-based laptop school where all students and teachers use Macintosh
laptops as their primary learning tool.
and founding principal, Christopher Lehmann. The 'Mission and Visions' page of the school's website describes the school as, "a partnership high school between the School District of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute. SLA is an inquiry-driven, project-based high school focused on 21st century learning that opened its doors on September 7, 2006. SLA provides a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. Students at SLA learn in a project-based environment where the core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection are emphasized in all classes."
In Spring 2009, SLA was named an Apple Distinguished School, as of 2009 one of only 33 schools in the nation so named. In addition, SLA was featured in the April 2007 Edutopia Magazine article, "My School, Meet MySpace" where the school is called "... [John] Dewey for the digital age, old-fashioned progressive education with a technological twist."
The school has received speeches from a number of distinguished individuals over the years, including Bill Gates
, Chairman of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who spoke to the students of SLA on Thursday, April 29, 2010 and Steven Squyres, lead researcher on the Mars Land-Rover project who first visited the school in 2007 and was SLA's keynote speaker at their first graduation on June 15, 2010.
In a September 2010 issue of Ladies Home Journal, SLA was named one of ten in "America's Most Amazing Schools".
In October 2010, Apple.com published a case study of SLA on their Education web page.
In March 2011, SLA was featured in the PBS documentary Digital Media: New Learners for the 21st Century.
laptop, which they are responsible for throughout the entire school year. The majority of school work is done on the computers through the school's Moodle
course-management system. The school also has some of the largest and most extensive lab areas in the entire school district, with four lab classrooms, with two on the 2nd floor and the other two on the 3rd. These classrooms are large in space, combining both a usual SLA classroom along with the lab areas, allowing students to conduct experiments on a regular basis opposed to the occasional one as in many other schools. Students do benchmark projects every quarter to demonstrate the application of their learning, with the aid of the five core values (see below).
. The building itself was formerly an office building (for the Human Resources department of the School District of Philadelphia), which was completely renovated for SLA. In total, the building is five stories tall (though the school only uses the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th floors), contains three elevators (reserved for teachers and disabled students only), and three main stairwells, with one that gives access to the 1st-3rd floors, and the other two for the 1st–5th floors. One interesting feature to the building, dubbed the "Pool" by the students, is a large cutout structure, (with the interior walls painted blue that gives it its name), located on the second floor which looks into the 1st floor café. This space was originally to be a grand staircase that leads visitors straight from the front door to the office, however, engineering conflicts did not allow for this. Also, two ballrooms, (located in the middle of the 2nd and 3rd floors) were supposed to be staircases that were connected as well, though the same conflicts denied those plans.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, which opened in September 2006. SLA is a partnership between The Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
and the School District of Philadelphia
School District of Philadelphia
The School District of Philadelphia is a school district based in the School District of Philadelphia Education Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that includes all public schools in the city of Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the eighth largest school district in the nation.The School...
. SLA is a 1:1 project-based laptop school where all students and teachers use Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
laptops as their primary learning tool.
History
Science Leadership Academy was created by the board of the Franklin InstituteFranklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
and founding principal, Christopher Lehmann. The 'Mission and Visions' page of the school's website describes the school as, "a partnership high school between the School District of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute. SLA is an inquiry-driven, project-based high school focused on 21st century learning that opened its doors on September 7, 2006. SLA provides a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. Students at SLA learn in a project-based environment where the core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection are emphasized in all classes."
In Spring 2009, SLA was named an Apple Distinguished School, as of 2009 one of only 33 schools in the nation so named. In addition, SLA was featured in the April 2007 Edutopia Magazine article, "My School, Meet MySpace" where the school is called "... [John] Dewey for the digital age, old-fashioned progressive education with a technological twist."
The school has received speeches from a number of distinguished individuals over the years, including Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, Chairman of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who spoke to the students of SLA on Thursday, April 29, 2010 and Steven Squyres, lead researcher on the Mars Land-Rover project who first visited the school in 2007 and was SLA's keynote speaker at their first graduation on June 15, 2010.
In a September 2010 issue of Ladies Home Journal, SLA was named one of ten in "America's Most Amazing Schools".
In October 2010, Apple.com published a case study of SLA on their Education web page.
In March 2011, SLA was featured in the PBS documentary Digital Media: New Learners for the 21st Century.
School features
Each student of SLA, (along with the teachers), receives their own personal MacbookMacBook
The MacBook was a brand of Macintosh notebook computers built by Apple Inc. First introduced in May 2006, it replaced the iBook and 12-inch PowerBook series of notebooks as a part of the Apple–Intel transition. Positioned as the low end of the MacBook family, the Apple MacBook was aimed at the...
laptop, which they are responsible for throughout the entire school year. The majority of school work is done on the computers through the school's Moodle
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
course-management system. The school also has some of the largest and most extensive lab areas in the entire school district, with four lab classrooms, with two on the 2nd floor and the other two on the 3rd. These classrooms are large in space, combining both a usual SLA classroom along with the lab areas, allowing students to conduct experiments on a regular basis opposed to the occasional one as in many other schools. Students do benchmark projects every quarter to demonstrate the application of their learning, with the aid of the five core values (see below).
Building
The location of the school building was decided upon its proximity to the Franklin Institute, as well as being in the heart of Downtown PhiladelphiaCenter City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
. The building itself was formerly an office building (for the Human Resources department of the School District of Philadelphia), which was completely renovated for SLA. In total, the building is five stories tall (though the school only uses the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th floors), contains three elevators (reserved for teachers and disabled students only), and three main stairwells, with one that gives access to the 1st-3rd floors, and the other two for the 1st–5th floors. One interesting feature to the building, dubbed the "Pool" by the students, is a large cutout structure, (with the interior walls painted blue that gives it its name), located on the second floor which looks into the 1st floor café. This space was originally to be a grand staircase that leads visitors straight from the front door to the office, however, engineering conflicts did not allow for this. Also, two ballrooms, (located in the middle of the 2nd and 3rd floors) were supposed to be staircases that were connected as well, though the same conflicts denied those plans.
Core values
The Science Leadership Academy is an understanding-driven, project-based school where the learning is centered around the five core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection.Inquiry
Students ask questions about their topic that will allow them to fully understand it. They also inquire about the things they do not know about said topic.Collaboration
Students collaborate with classmates and others to continue their spectrum of learning.Reflection
Students reflect on the work, along with successes and failures and see what they can do to improve on future work.External links
- Science Leadership Academy Official website
- The Power of Project Learning - Scholastic Magazine, April / May 2009
- Apple.com Case Study on the Science Leadership Academy