Dr. William H. Horton

8th Grade Student Leads Sphero Certification Program at Dr. William H. Horton School

Did you know we have a Sphero Certification Program at Dr. William H. Horton School? 8th Grader Ibrahim is now designing the official badge for the Horton students who complete the certification process. The certification process will include:

A walkthrough of the official Sphero Edu app on our Horton iPads.
Identifying items included in the classroom Sphero kit
How to unlock the battery compartment and properly charge the batteries
How the Connect the Sphero to Bluetooth
How to identify the Sphero mobility controls and drive the device with and without block coding
Tips for preventing damage

As the Sphero Certification Lead, Ibrahim has been working with Mr. St. Jean, Verizon Coach, to create a User Guide inclusive of all mentioned above with more detail which will be made available to all users of the Verizon Innovation Lab

NJSDA and NJDOE Award Newark Public Schools $6 Million for Emergent and Capital Maintenance Projects

Newark, NJ [February 16, 2022] –Through contributions from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) and the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA), Newark Public Schools will be able to address three of their emergent projects within the school district. Recognizing the challenges that districts face in making repairs to school building structures, Governor Murphy made a direct appropriation of $75 million to districts across New Jersey, and the Newark Board of Education received an allocation of $6,455,930 to assist in their improvements. The funding is designed to offset district costs associated with taking important measures to ensure that students and staff have a safe and healthy learning environment.

Newark Public Schools has identified three schools within the district that meet the criteria and guidelines for emergent projects and that have been approved by the SDA and NJDOE; specifically, roof replacements and masonry repairs at Sir Isaac Newton Elementary School, Dr. William H. Horton Elementary School, and West Side High School.

“We are pleased that Newark was chosen as a recipient of this grant and we will use the monies to make repairs to the three schools identified, which have suffered water infiltration and damage to walls and ceilings over time,” said Superintendent Roger León. “This generous award will allow us to strengthen those key structures” he added.

“The Newark Board of Education is more than appreciative of these contributions made to our schools by the NJDOE and the SDA. Improvements such as these typically come at the expense of having to cut back on other opportunities,” said Board President, Dawn Haynes. “With the assistance of the NJDOE and SDA, we have been able to reallocate funds to other important initiatives that positively influence the culture and climate of our schools for students”.