Post #23: Strategic Vision #5: Cultivating Curious Minds

Last spring. I started a series of blog posts to elaborate on the five strategic vision statements in our 2020-2023 Strategic Growth Plan. Each of these vision statements describes what Augusta Prep will be by the end of 2023--as our motto is “To be, rather than to seem.” In my last blog post, I described strategic vision statement number four--how we plan to cultivate great graduates by improving extracurricular programs, partnerships, internships, and exchanges. Today, I would like to share updates on strategic vision statement number five which focuses on developing empathetic problem solvers who can tackle the greatest challenges of the present and the future.

We have an obligation to prepare our graduates for their future, not our past. We want our graduates prepared for college and beyond–for a global marketplace and a future driven by ever-evolving technologies. Our graduates will face the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution, with emerging technologies in big data, artificial intelligence, robotics, and additive manufacturing. So, vision statement number five states: “Augusta Prep will cultivate curious learners who can contribute individually and collaboratively towards developing innovative solutions to real world problems.”
To more fully achieve this vision, we developed five objectives (not in any particular order):

  1. Develop new local partnerships to enhance learning in cybersecurity, robotics, coding, science, engineering, art, and design. Since publishing this plan in the spring of 2020, we have pursued a number of new partnerships to improve experiences with Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math fields. A few notable new connections:
  • ELECTRATHON AMERICA is an organization that provides hands-on opportunities for participants to learn about STEM principles as they design and build an electric vehicle for competition. Augusta Prep is now Team #1324!
  • The ALLIANCE FOR CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION (ACE) is a consortium of education and community partners working to raise the effective value of the 6-12 educational system and its integration into post-secondary education.
  • FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future thorough a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs.
  • THECLUBHOU.SE is a division of Hack Augusta, Inc., non-profit 501(c)3 dedicated to growing a culture of innovation and collaboration. APDS is the only PK-12 school in the area which is a member of this group and has access to their 4,500 square feet of co-working space and makerspace within the Georgia Cyber Center.

The next three objectives involve more active learning methods. We held our first full faculty professional development event involving these methodologies on January 3rd, 2022.

  1. Train all faculty in problem-based and project-based learning. Project-based learning has been around for a century, but it is not the norm in most schools. This broad category of methods can take several forms or be a combination of:
    • Designing a product or performance
    • Solving a “real-world” problem for a “client”
    • Developing an answer to an open-ended question that may have multiple solutions
Problem-based learning can be considered a subset of project-based learning, and some educators use the two interchangeably. Regardless, these methodologies challenge students to move beyond memorization and learning for a test. These methodologies tap into student curiosity and creativity, and lead to extended learning experiences in teams more similar to the challenges of the workplace.

  1. Train all faculty in design thinking methodologies. If we want our students to tackle open-ended questions or design products, then we have to equip them with a mindset and a process to do so. Design thinking is a framework for engaging with empathy, identifying problems, refining ideas, and testing solutions. This is an active process and also taps into student curiosity and creativity. Design thinking is higher level thinking–just what we want to teach all our students to do. 

  1. Design and implement an internship program for Upper School students, leveraging partners and alumni in the area. Internships are a form of experiential learning where “the classroom” moves off-campus. These short-term experiences allow students to learn in a professional environment versus learn about it from a teacher. Internships can be another form of project-based learning, and some hosts may fully invite students into solving their workplace problems. Recognizing that internships can not only provide meaningful career exploration but also serve to strengthen students' insights in selecting colleges and potential college majors as well as their credentials for college admission. , we have been researching internships and other experiential possibilities for them. We are compiling a list of career, leadership and service-related internships in our local area.  This week, our current parents and local alumni will be invited to complete a survey which, in part, can help us to identify and to develop potential partnerships through their places of employment and community involvement.  

  1. Renovate or build modern science facilities. You may have seen this recent article in The Augusta Chronicle about a new sciences and engineering facility on our campus. Indeed, the building plans are under development, and fundraising has been underway for the last 9 months. Look for us to share more information and invite everyone in the community to participate in the fundraising effort in the coming months! Why is this new facility so important? Because we have the Class of 2037 on campus right now, in our Lower School two-year old room, and we believe this facility, these partnerships and this programming will help better prepare them for their future. Because we have amazing faculty delivering great programming in dated spaces that were not designed for robotics, engineering, forensics, coding, or virtual reality. Because we need to grow the Upper School quickly, and we think this will draw even more student talent as Prep will be the only school in the area with such distinctive places and programming. Because this building, and what it embodies, matches the future of medical/cyber/tech/industrial Augusta. 

As I have written before, we will not rest on our 60-year tradition of academic excellence (rated #1 in the Augusta area by Niche.com), but rather look to the future and redefine what it means to be the premier school in the CSRA. As you can see through this series of updates, we have already begun!
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Augusta Preparatory Day School

Augusta Preparatory Day School is an independent, college preparatory school serving children ages 2 through Grade 12 from the greater Augusta-Aiken area. Augusta Prep seeks to enroll a group of diverse students. We follow an open admission policy, whereby qualified candidates are admitted without regard to religion, race, nationality, economic background, or ethnic origin. 
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