Global Learning Charter Public School (GLCPS), a tuition-free public charter school that currently services 500 students in grades 5-12, will receive a Thinkabit Lab™ from the University of San Diego and Qualcomm, the wireless tech company founded by Irwin Jacobs.
The Thinkabit Lab™ will be housed in the second building currently being renovated that will serve as a new home to GLCPS’ high school grade levels and creative space. At the Thinkabit Lab™ students explore engineering and non-engineering careers available at tech companies and engage in fun and unique hands-on engineering projects. Together, the career exploration and engineering activities help students understand where they might fit in the future workforce and how they could contribute to solving real-world problems using technology. 3D printers, precision wood-cutting machines and a kiln for ceramics are among the equipment that will be housed in the new facility.
Qualcomm is a company of inventors and cares deeply about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Through the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab™ program they aim to show students from all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds that they can be part of inventing the wireless world of the future.
“Our students are going to have significant hands-on experience developing and manufacturing things, running a business,” said Dr. Stephen Furtado, Executive Director of GLCPS. “It’s amazing what our students are going to have at their fingertips. We are very grateful to Qualcomm and the University of San Diego for this wonderful learning opportunity.”
About Global Learning Public Charter School
Open to New Bedford residents, Global Learning Charter Public School (GLCPS) is a tuition-free public charter school that currently serves 500 students in grades 5-12. Launched in 2002 as a Horace Mann charter school, GLCPS became a Commonwealth charter school in 2006. In order to generate a culture of personalization, the school setting and class sizes are deliberately small. Students, faculty and administration know each other well and teachers are able to tailor the curriculum to the needs and level of each student. GLCPS offers an exciting and challenging interdisciplinary curriculum that follows and builds upon the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Students learn to work collaboratively in teams, use technology meaningfully in their coursework, strengthen all elements of their communication skills, as well as develop the necessary skills to become engaged and ethical contributors to a global society. GLCPS capitalizes on the exceptional resources of the region (for example, marine sciences), and ties these resources to their curriculum and instruction. For further information please contact Amey Bissonnette, Director of Development, at 508-991-4105 or visit www.glcps.org.
