The Milwaukee Jewish Day School is pumping up its ongoing focus on innovation, having named a new “director of innovation” and earmarking $200,000 for the creation of a new “innovation hub.”
The local Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust is giving $200,000 towards the hub project, which includes renovating a cluster of classrooms into an ideation studio, an engineering lab, a maker space and woodworking shop and an upgraded art room. Fundraising is continuing for the project, with design slated for this winter and completion targeted for spring, though the $200,000 alone is enough for a nice space, said Brian King.
King has served as head of school for five years. As of Jan. 1, 2016, he becomes the new director of innovation, with Sheryl Primakow, former senior director, taking over as head of school.
In the new role, King said he’ll be looking for more opportunities for innovation.
“We’re preparing today’s child for a future that doesn’t exist yet,” he said.
As an example, consider the MJDS teacher who made contact with a Cardinal Stritch University religion class to arrange for fourth grade students to teach college students about Jewish holidays.
“That produces an entirely different process and outcome because it’s authentic and it’s real,” King said.
The innovation hub is to also offer an authentic approach to learning, with the 3D printer the school already has on hand, plus new features like writeable walls, a laser cutter and woodworking tools.
The hub, with its different rooms, is inspired by ideas from Stanford University’s Institute of Design, according to a news release.
The ideation studio portion of the hub is to be a place where students will dream, brainstorm and be inspired. The furniture will be comfortable and child-friendly, according to a news release. Children will be able to write on most surfaces in the room. The space will be modular, allowing small groups to work simultaneously or large groups to work collaboratively.
The engineering lab will be the place for robotics, electrical engineering, and that 3D printer, among other items.
The maker space and woodworking shop will include saws, drills, routers, sanders and hand tools. This space will provide tools for students to build their concepts, tinker and explore, according to the news release.
Renovations will also spruce up the collection of rooms that are to become the hub, rooms which are currently drab and unattractive.
Some of the items slated for the hub are too expensive (or dangerous) to spread around to students, so the hub can function as a central locale for the costly rarities, King said. A laser cutter, for example, can cost $15,000 or more.
The thinking among educators is adults of the future will live in a world where more tasks are automated, collaborative skills are needed and people will need to be innovators.
The task is to get to “educational excellence and what it means in the 21st century,” Primakow said.
“For me this is a labor of love,” added Primakow, the new head of school. “What’s going on in this building is great.”
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· At 6401 N. Santa Monica Blvd., next to the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center on the Karl Jewish Community Campus.
· For students in junior kindergarten (K4) through eighth grade.
· Tuition is graduated based on affordability.
· For families from all streams of Judaism.
· More info: MJDS.org
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