Thanks to a grant from the Pacific Life Foundation, a selected group of staff will have the opportunity to be trained on project-based learning.

On Wednesday March 29, principal Kevin Rohlfs was presented with a $3,500 check from the Pacific Life Foundation. The foundation awards grants to schools that are attended by children or grandchildren of Pacific Life employees. These grants, called the ‘3 T’s of Education Grants,’ provide funds for teacher training, textbooks, and technology. Since 1998, more than $7.2 million have been donated to K-12 schools nationwide.

“I’ve really been interested in project-based learning,” Rohlfs said. “They do training in different places around the country, and I’ve wanted to bring a group of staff to put them through that training, but we didn’t have any money for that.”

Project-based learning is an approach in which students explore real-world problems and challenges through techniques such as communication, reflection, and revision.

“All the research right now says that project-based learning is a much better way for students to learn,” Rohlfs said. “My hope as we move forward is to continue to incorporate more project-based learning into our curriculum.”

Rohlfs hopes to facilitate project-based learning into future curriculums. The grant will help to make that transition possible.

“I will be taking as many teachers as I can to a three day project-based learning training, probably sometime in the fall,” Rohlfs said.