GRANDVIEW, Mo. — Grandview students in the district's FOCUS program are dreaming big after their learning lab got a big upgrade.
The upgrades at the Center for Alternative Instructional Resources school included four new iMac computers, six Apple TVs and four drones.
Funding for the upgrades came from a $50,000 grant that Burns and McDonnell awarded to the district after it won the 2017 Battle of the Brains competition.
Zakery Davis, a Grandview fifth-grader, was one of several students who worked on the competition team.
“I was project manager of the proposal team,” Zakery said of the project, in which students designed and built a two-story brain. “I learned how to work with a group a little better because before I had always tried to work by myself.”
A year later, Zakery is one of the students enjoying the fruits of that teamwork and even thinking about working for Burns and McDonnell when he gets older.
For teacher Vickie Adams, the process helped her show the value of STEM education and teamwork.
“It’s not your idea, but it’s how your idea can be enhanced and grow if you’re working with colleagues and associates,” Adams said.
