2015-2016
f ox c hapel a rea s chool d istrict s tate of the s chools
District Remakes Technology
Education – Integrates
Deeper Learning
Twice on White House Short List for Innovative Programs
•High school junior Tanvi Meringenti
placed seventh at the 2016 Future
Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
National Leadership Conference. She
was one of 12 Fox Chapel Area students
to qualify to compete in the national
competition by placing at the FBLA
State Leadership Conference.
•A total of 147 high school students were
named Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars
by the College Board for demonstrating
college-level achievement on the AP
exams taken in May 2016. A total of 15
students, including seniors Christopher
Esch, Elliott Norman, Priyanka Shah,
Jesuloluwa Shodipo, James Thomson,
Konrad Urban, Spencer Williams, Xi
Xu, and Elaine Yates, and juniors Rohan
Chalasani, Mihir Garimella, Yelim Lee,
Darwin Leuba, Suvir Mirchandani, and
Kai Shaikh, qualified for the National AP
Scholar Award by earning an average score
of 4 or higher on all AP exams taken, and
scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of
these exams.
•Dorseyville Middle School eighth grader
Gwendolyn Davison was selected as one
of 626 students from across the nation
to be named a 2016 Carson Scholar.
Additionally, eighth grader Claire Katz
renewed her Carson Scholar Status.
12 Fox Chapel Area
W
hen President Obama presented his address to kick off a National Week of Making
June 17-23, 2016, Fox Chapel Area School District was once again front and center –
this time for demonstrating a commitment to the Nation of Makers initiative. According to
the prepared White House press release, “Fox Chapel Area School District in Pittsburgh, PA,
will integrate making into its computer science curriculum for more than 2,000 elementary
school students, including the student-created and facilitated program, Code to Create.”
Earlier this year, the district appeared on another White House list as a leader in K-12
computer science education.
Across Fox Chapel Area, students at all grade levels are involved in making, including the
district’s Creativity and Literacy Program for preschool-age children and their caregivers.
•As a maker site, the Creativity and Literacy Program provides a unique way of combining
literacy skills with the “making” strand of learning. Under the direction of Creativity and
Literacy Program Facilitator Alison Francis, preschool-age children, along with their caregivers,
are empowered to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a concept through making
or creating, using a project-based approach. Visitors from the Harvard Graduate School of
Education’s Project Zero, Agency by Design, visited the Creativity and Literacy Program,
located at Kerr Elementary School, in February and described the program as “inviting,”
intriguing,” “creative,” and “stimulating.”