Private school for boys Archbishops Riordan

Private school in San Francisco

When I planned to meet with a representative of Archbishop Riordan High School at the international conference, I did not expect to hear anything interesting. A Catholic school for boys in California, strong in the sciences, more than half of the students continue their studies at the University of California and California State University. Located in San Francisco and has a boarding house that accepts international students. That's all I expected to hear. But what I learned at the meeting made me see once again the huge gap between traditional post-Soviet schooling and the education offered by good private schools in America.

In this article I want to share only a new school approach to the study of science.

The American school, strong in sciences

For more than half a century, the Archbishops Riordan Private Boys' School has been renowned as one of California's premier science courses.

In 2016-2017, the school is launching two new programs that will even better prepare Archbishops Riordan students for the most modern and interesting sciences.

The STEAM scientific program: science, technology, engineering, arts and math - is a new approach to the study of these subjects. Students will learn what is interesting and appropriate for tomorrow. The new program will build on Riordan's existing strong curriculum in math and science, as well as existing hobby clubs such as the iPad Repair Club or Robotics Club.

The second program, which currently only exists in a few schools in California, is Makerspace.

Makerspace is where students come together to invent. It is the place where design, technology and innovation intersect. Students will not only create innovative products using tools such as a 3D printer or laser cutter but also develop problem-solving skills. This interdisciplinary collaboration will prepare the school's students for the sciences of the 21st century.

Makerspace will include the following:

• New classes such as Introduction to Robotics, Creative Workshops with 3D Design, and Introduction to App Building.
• Development of curricula and retraining of teachers, with the aim that each student can attend Makerspace on a project basis. For example, a history course that studies early civilizations could use Makerspace to create models of prehistoric instruments that would be executed with a laser cutter.
• Numerous STEAM clubs such as creative clubs focusing on wood and metal crafts.
• Robotics clubs, allowing many students to participate and compete in numerous robotics competitions.
• Coding clubs that focus on writing complex coding.

How it will help Riordan

The development of these projects will further strengthen the curriculum, which will allow the school to better prepare young people for tomorrow, provide the necessary skills to start a successful career in the highly competitive field of engineering or continue their studies in any of these sciences.