South Jersey School Gets Boost With Help From Verizon

CAMDEN, NJ — The LEAP Academy University Charter School is partnering with Verizon to equip its students and staff for the future.

On Friday, LEAP STEAM High School and LEAP STEM Intermediate School joined the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program.

Under this initiative, classrooms receive free mobile devices (tablets or laptops) with Verizon service packages for every student and teacher beginning in the fall.

Dr. Dawn Marie Fichera, Director of Curriculum & Instruction at LEAP Academy, led the project and told Patch that their inclusion "immediately builds confidence and agency" in a learning environment.

"It empowers students to engage in high-level, real-world problem solving while enabling teachers to differentiate instruction and elevate rigor through meaningful technology integration," Fichera added.

Each school also gets a full-time technology coach and receives professional development support for teachers to help integrate the items into their lessons.

These aspects include virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), building out coding, cybersecurity, and data science courses.

"Our focus is on equipping students with future-ready skills that position them to compete in a global economy," said Fichera.

LEAP Academy University School is a public charter facility that serves kids from infants through grade 12 in the city.

The program, which began in 1997, is aimed at enhancing career opportunities for African Americans and Latinos living in urban and vulnerable environments.

LEAP is among 33 new schools joining the program to make a total of 693 in 126 districts across the United States.

Digital Promise, Verizon's partner in the program, chose LEAP through an application and review process that included the intermediate and high school principals, the Director of Information Technology, student panels, teacher interviews, and school walkthroughs.

Through Verizon's Innovative Learning efforts, the company has contributed more than $1 billion in market value digital support to more than 9 million students over the last 14 years.

Moving forward, Verizon is looking to provide 10 million youth with digital skills training by 2030.

To learn more about the opportunities afforded to students and their families at LEAP Academy, visit the school's website at leapacademycharter.org.

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