GILBERT, AZ — Students at PS Academy Arizona in Gilbert are taking on large-scale technology projects aimed at building skills they can carry beyond the classroom.
School leaders say the school supports neurodivergent learners.
Technology instructor Tom Burick said the projects give students opportunities to work together, solve problems and think about their futures.
"It starts that conversation of what does my future look like? What will I be doing? What are my career paths? What am I capable of?" Burick said.
School leaders say students spent months building a full-scale replica of ENIAC, one of the earliest electronic computers. Burick said the project included more than 22,000 handmade and hand-installed parts.
Students said the work has helped them discover new skills, learn the importance of teamwork and think differently about what they may be capable of in the future.
Students are now beginning another large-scale project: a full-size build of the Orion crew capsule. Burick said the class plans to work on representations of systems including life support, avionics and flight computers.
Burick said the larger goal is to expose students to technology while encouraging them to consider where they could fit into its future.
"You're allowing them to ask the question, what is my role in that?" Burick said. "And I think that's the most important thing of all."
