We were thrilled that San Diego’s Public Broadcasting group, KPBS, came out to cover a story for our client, the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.
Education reporter MG Perez did a fantastic job exploring the transformation of Parkway Middle School into Parkway Sports & Health Science Academy, the latest addition to the district’s Academy model for middle schools.
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Here’s our own coverage of the story for the district. It serves as a press release as well as a full story that can be used on a website, via social media. Being proactive in sharing stories is vital to a communication strategy.
Parkway Middle School in La Mesa is no more. In its place is the newly named Parkway Sports & Health Science Academy, the newest academy-themed school in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.
The school has added 12 new elective courses for its 7th and 8th-grade students, including Sports Medicine, Innovation & Design, Personal Finance, and the Engineering of Skateboarding, which also utilizes the skate park at La Mesita Park next to the school. The courses are not only innovative in their teaching but connect to future learning pathways at area high schools. Parkway will be adding a 6th-grade class in the 2023-24 school year.
TEACHER-LED, STUDENT-FOCUSED
“The idea was created in collaboration with teachers,” says Parkway Principal Jacob Ruth. “We had teachers that were interested in certain kinds of areas, and with our facilities - we have a great field, we have a rock wall, and we’re next to the skate park - it made sense to go with a sports and health science theme.”
Parkway teacher Patrick Martin showcases materials in the Engineering of Skateboarding class, while a student is interviewed by KPBS and another practices a trick.
The Sports & Health Science theme is broadly based, with the key being applying the new learning areas to life experiences, and the ability to continue the education beyond Parkway. Says Mr. Ruth, “We developed a connection to learning pathways at the high schools. Our area high schools have their CTE (Career and Technical Ed) pathways. So we started connecting with that and crafting our courses to lead to those opportunities.”
Parkway students and teachers have been able to interact with Sports Medicine programs at both Grossmont and Helix high schools, Grossmont’s Engineering department, and West Hills High School’s aerospace engineering class.
REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS
Among the dozen new electives are Sports Medicine, The Engineering of Skateboarding, Financial Literacy, Zoology, and Innovation and Design, which incorporates graphic and product design.
(L to R: Innovation & Design students collaborate won design ideas; a Personal Finance class engages students; Sports Medicine students practice taping ankles)
“Innovation & Design is a course that has coding and marketing and design all wrapped into one,” says Mr. Ruth. “The idea is that students design things for all of these new clubs and programs - like stickers, water bottles, or other items.
“The classes will do a project proposal, and talk about how that would be designed and marketed. Then they're going to do a Shark Tank-like demonstration, and possibly produce something for the winner. The kids are stoked about the idea of creating something they can see their classmates use.”
PREPARING FOR OPPORTUNITIES
Courses like sports medicine and engineering also prepare students for future opportunities based on trends in jobs in the future. Says Mr. Ruth, “We looked at the reports from the Center for Excellence on what the job market may look like in 10 years, and the medical industry is huge in the East County. That's one of the reasons we're providing opportunities to learn about the medical pathway.”
Continues Mr. Ruth, “And then we have financial literacy and data science. We have a teacher who is currently teaching Financial Literacy, and she’ll add Data Science soon. Data science right now is really important at the high school level and beyond. Many colleges, especially in California, are seeing data science as a very important area of understanding as it relates to mathematical, scientific, and/or technical majors/fields."
L to R: Parkway Sports & Health Science Principal Jacob Ruth speaks with KPBS; Sports Medicine teacher Nicoll Lindsay shows a teaching resource; Science of Skateboarding teacher Paul Martin explains the myriad ways students learn through the lens of skateboarding
INCREASED ENROLLMENT
The change is attracting new students to Parkway. Enrollment, according to Mr. Ruth, is up by nearly 80 students, and the 7th-grade class is currently at capacity. “We're growing quite a bit,” he says. “The energy this year has been really good. Parents and students have been very excited to be a part of the changes.”
Those changes are just starting, as the team at Parkway is expanding its outreach to provide opportunities with area schools and businesses, including Northrup Gruman, the Grossmont College District, and area fire departments, among others. Each of these opportunities provides the potential for students to learn more about connecting their school learning to real-life applications.
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