Granby School Board Hears Presentations on Problem Solving

In a night heavy on discussion but light on official action, the Granby Board of Education Wednesday heard three presentations concerning the ’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) courses.

“The kids work together as teams to problem-solve,” high school principal Patricia Law said. “They come up with a purpose and they solve a task.”

First up was technology teacher and robotics team instructor Tim Barnett and sophomores Tyler Beaupre and Jared Grier, who showed off their work in progress for the .

Barnett said that this year’s robot, which is constructed from parts provided in a kit, must be able to play basketball, or at least shoot a ball into a basket 90 inches off the ground.

There are no directions as to how to assemble the robot, so the kids must come up with ways of not just building one for its specified purpose, but also write computer code to program it to control it.

The line of the night came when Barnett said that the competition’s state that the robots can prevent other robots from achieving their goals, though Granby Memorial’s robots “would try to avoid everything.”

“So it’s like the Patriots,” school board member Jenny Emery quipped. “All offense and no defense.”

Aaron DeLaRoche and Kaitlyn Riveiro from Granby Memorial High’s Teen Battle Chef team were also on hand to talk about their experiences engaging in .

The competitions involve teams having to make a dish based on the ingredients provided on tables.

“I love the foods program,” Riveiro said. “I love that we explore more and sharpen our skills and become more effective collaborators.”

There is also a nutritional aspect to the program, as it teaches students how to prepare and eat healthy meals.

“This is important for me because the physical aspects of sports I can’t do,” DeLaRoche said. “This is easier than playing football.”

Finally, teacher Harold Kolding along with students Zach Kushner and Lauren Grashaw showed off their projects from technology/engineering courses offered at the high school.

Kolding said that one class involved the students mass producing a seasonal item - this year it was a tiny house with a small electric light - that was handed out to the staff.

In other business, Michael Dunn, Language Arts Supervisor, provided an update on language arts in the district and Superintendent of Schools Alan Addley discussed the Continuous Improvement Plan from the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.

Addley said that CAPSS came up with 140 recommendations for adoption - though not every one was expected to be accepted by every school district - to boost the quality of education in the state and reduce the achievement gap.

A discussion arose over what extent Granby should be involved or concerned over the achievement gap state or nationwide.

“I don’t know if there is a gap in Granby,” school board member Matt Wutka said. “We live in Granby for a reason.”

Wutka said that he was more concerned about lifting the high achievers even higher than he was about reducing the gap between low and high performers.

“We have to teach our children as leaders that they live in a society that is broader than the borders of Granby,” Emery said.

The topic was broached, though on somewhat different terms, when the use of quality and diversity funds for the implementation of all-day kindergarten in the district was brought up.

Wutka said that he would prefer to see the quality and diversity funds used to implement another layer of honors classes at the high school for students who would have difficulty with AP courses, but are not challenged in regular education classes.

Addley, however, said that there was not as much, if any, need at the moment for the expansion of such options.