EDI PROGRAM FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL

EDI PROGRAM FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL

New Space New Directions

Olivia Crocker ’25 loved the Engineering, Design, and Innovation classes she took in Lower School. Years later, the fun of building bridges with popsicle sticks — and studying the science behind that lesson — still sticks in her mind.

“I like being creative and EDI is a way to be creative,” Olivia said. So, when Olivia learned about a new program that is debuting this semester, she eagerly signed up.

In January, about 40 ninth graders began a semester-long Middle School EDI course. Taught by Afek Taragan, the classes meet in a brand-new EDI room, located in the Upper School near the art room and the wood shop.

The new course is an extension of the Lower School EDI Program. The first EDI classes were introduced to first and third grade students in 2015, after more than a year of extensive research and planning by teacher Dr. John Galler ’93 and others. Grade levels and instructors were gradually added — Taragan came to Norfolk Academy in 2017 and in 2018–19 the program became part of the curriculum in all six Lower School grade levels.

Projects for students in grades 1–3 focus on the creation of a product, like the bridges that Olivia remembers. Grades 4–6 explore more abstract topics like electricity and 3D design. Galler teaches these older students; Taragan teaches the younger ones, with help this year from Teaching Associate Christopher Thomas, who came to Academy in 2021.

Middle School students will be using some of the same technology they learned about in Lower School — like 3D printers — but will be expected to think in more advanced ways. Among the points of emphasis are communication and collaboration. Students will be thinking like entrepreneurs, considering projects that would make the Academy campus better.

“I want students to be creative. This is a space to build things you are passionate about,” Taragan said as he pointed around the new classroom.

Ninth graders are giving up their study hall to take the class. And while it is a natural link into Upper School, where some of the students could become EDI Fellows in the Batten Leadership Program, the school hopes to add seventh and eighth graders into the mix next school year.

One of Taragan’s goals, this year and going forward, is to encourage students to take risks and be unafraid of failure. His mantra is that they’ll get better through errors.

Those words are music to Olivia’s ears. Last fall, she gave her Ninth Grade Speech on the importance of making, and learning from, mistakes. “Failure is needed for success,” she said. “It’s not a bad thing.” ◆

Mike Connors is Digital News and Social Media Specialist.

OPPOSITE: Afek Taragan is teaching new Middle School EDI classes that debuted in January for the 40 ninth graders who signed up. Classes take place in a new room located near the Upper School Art Studio. RIGHT: The new EDI space includes new equipment, such as Ultimaker 3D printers.