The recent public health challenge offered teachers instructional opportunities to tap into students’ innate curiosity and deliver timely lessons. This situation prompted students to explore subjects further and even provided comfort during these unprecedented times. Many teachers at Byram Hills High School found ways for students to rise above the noise with unique, thoughtful assignments.
In the AP Computer Science Principles [CSP] classes, teachers Ms. Lisa Pellegrino and Ms. Carley Sarracco designed a curriculum for students to build a vaccine application. This app was for people looking to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. CSP was designed to be a programming class where students could see the impact on humanity. Students gain experience in C, Scratch, SQL, JavaScript, and Python while exploring how computing solves societal and global problems.
The app added or removed someone from the vaccination list to be utilized by doctors or patients. “We designed it from an app builder website but taught the students the fundamental skills on how to create different functions and interact with variables,” said senior Paul Lestz, a teaching assistant for the class. “On the right side, you have code, and on the left side, you have a functional app that you could click through.” In addition, students created welcome and questionnaire screens giving each of their apps a unique look. “This was an extremely pertinent assignment because when we began building the app, nobody was getting the vaccine,” said Paul. “There are many now, but to design your own that can organize such a complex system is important and impressive, and to feel like we could make an impact was incredible.”
Many other students participated in pandemic-related projects this past year and gained real-world experience. Students created an action plan on a current or relevant topic during year two and year three of the Global Scholars course and found solutions through the multiple steps studied in year one. For example, sophomores Michael Rocco and Robert Ziff were passionate about the restaurant business, aware of the struggles during the pandemic, and wanted to help.“The state put many restrictions on restaurants, like indoor capacity limits, so we wanted to dive deeper,” Michael said. “We spoke to the owner of a restaurant in NYC and Armonk. With no way to make a profit, he was forced to lay off 95% of his NYC staff.”
The students developed a local fundraising campaign known as Eat Out Tuesdays. It promoted and encouraged people to dine out on Tuesdays, which was typically a slower night. Their concept included an incentive of a free drink or dessert with a meal. They were working diligently on a social media and marketing plan to disseminate the information throughout Armonk. “In this class, you learn so much the first year and get to apply what you’ve learned to real-world scenarios in years two and three,” said Michael. “I am so glad our work can continue as the restaurant business opens up.”
Both projects gave students thorough insight into the pandemic and how it affected our community. In each case, students took an idea from fruition to implementation by utilizing the skills attained from their class and their determination to make a difference.