Foxborough HS Project Shows Local Appeal, Global Impact

The Teaching and Learning Highlight at Monday's School Committee meeting was a great example of how Foxborough High School students are spreading their influence worldwide through technology. FHS Spanish students were selected to present at the MassCUE/M.A.S.S. 2016 Annual Technology Conference which took place at Gillette Stadium in October as part of the Global Education Student Showcase. The education technology conference is held each year and is co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE) and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) and is designed for school districts from across the Commonwealth and New England to share exciting ways teaching and learning is enhanced through technology.

K-12 World Language Department Head Kerryn Frazier and Spanish teacher Irene Titmas were joined by FHS students Courtney Seeley and Soli Stamatos to share how the power of persuasion, technology and digital artifacts can have a global impact. As part of this year’s MassCUE conference theme “Global connections - Digital Learning,” Foxborough Spanish students demonstrated their global competence skills through persuading others to support micro-financing projects around the world with their project “Local Appeal, Global Impact.” As part of their project they explored how micro-financing can support economies of developing countries through international nonprofit organizations like Kiva.org and Asociacionmapu.org that connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Specifically, FHS students shared how a local appeal to the community can have a reaching global impact by convincing others to support such projects around the world. FHS students created digital artifacts in the target language of Spanish to connect and persuade others to support causes they felt passionate about. Some causes supported through these projects include water filtration systems, women as small business owners, educational materials, medical interventions, and youth from the Dominican Republic aspiring to become professional baseball players.

Courtney and Soli represented their peers well demonstrating how FHS students are engaged in real world problem solving through global collaborative projects. Visit the Foxborough Public Schools homepage to watch the video of students being interviewed in Spanish as they discussed their projects: Local Appeal, Global Impact.

This article was submitted by Foxborough Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Amy Berdos as part of the Foxborough School Committee's Teaching and Learning Highlight Series.

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