Pine Crest Students Welcomed Back To School With New Innovation Labs
Pine Crest School students were greeted with more than a warm welcome from teachers and classrooms stocked with new textbooks and school supplies when the bells rang for the first day of the 2015-16 school year. Over the summer, architects and construction crews built three new innovation labs and faculty developed a robust pre-kindergarten through twelfth-grade computer science curriculum.
Made possible by a generous gift from Pine Crest School Board of Trustees member Jordan Zimmerman and The Jordan Zimmerman Family Foundation, the initiatives fall under the umbrella of the newly formed Zimmerman Family Innovation and Technology Program at Pine Crest School. Zimmerman is founder and chairman of Zimmerman Advertising, an Omnicom Group company and the leading national retail brand builder with more than 1,100 associates and offices throughout the country.
“This is one of the largest gifts to advance a curricular initiative in the history of Pine Crest School,” said Pine Crest President Dr. Dana Markham. “We are so fortune to have Jordan Zimmerman as a Trustee and partner. His support comes at a time when it is critical to prepare our students to thrive in the global market place of the future – one that requires ingenuity and real-world problem-solving skills.”
Staffed by a team of computer science and innovation specialists, called the iTeam, Pine Crest’s innovation labs and computer science curriculum have been designed to complement the Schools’ traditional and rigorous core curriculum. The labs, one on the Boca Raton campus and two on the Fort Lauderdale campus, are dedicated maker spaces filled with state-of-the-art equipment for all grade levels in a modern, collaborative environment. Computer Science spaces, whether in the classroom or innovation lab, are places where students learn programming and algorithmic thinking.
Students are already taking full advantage of the spaces, curriculum, and faculty expertise. Competitive robotics teams have been formed at the Lower, Middle, and Upper School levels, including an all-girl team representing the Upper School.
“Innovation has made this country what it is today. Zimmerman Advertising is an innovative agency that has differentiated itself from the sea of sameness in the advertising sector. Today I am proud to endow The Zimmerman Family Innovation and Technology Institute at Pine Crest School, its programs and iLabs. Providing differentiated learning opportunities will enable every child to grow and expand their mind with creativity and originality,” said Jordan Zimmerman.
