“We don’t train [students] to solve problems,” Jenni Hoffman said. “We train them to come up with ideas.”
Hoffman, normally East’s Latin teacher, is training to be one of the teachers for the new District C class at East. District C will be offered at all the CHCCS high schools, where students will form teams to help solve problems that local businesses are experiencing. District C was created in 2017 because its founders believed that students were entering the “real world” unprepared for what it takes.
“For most students, these grades are very static assignments, rather than learning skills that they carry into the real world” Hoffman said about traditional classes.
At CHCCS, this will be a year-round class open to 60 students, shared between all the schools. 491 students have currently completed the program, either through the District C headquarters or by District-C trained educators. Thirty nine businesses have presented at least one problem to District C.
Junior Gabriel Ackall participated in the program last year through the District C headquarters. At the conclusion of the program, students presented to the company—for Ackall, this was Republi Wireless, a phone service operator. His team’s presentation involved a benefit system for customers who referred new users, among other things.
“Things that were important were the communication and collaborative skills that I learned,” Ackall said. “I’ve been able to use those skills that I learned from presenting to actual businesses to sell myself just like I sold my solution.”
Bradley Sadowsky, an East senior who also participated in District C, mentioned how much the program taught him about teamwork. He felt like he could talk to his team and that he can transfer what he learned about working with a team into school and the rest of life.
“I’m a pretty shy person,” Sadowsky said. “But I think that just showing up and just trying your hardest is all that it takes… And even if you have to step outside of your comfort zone, I think that it’s worth it.”
The concluding event of the District C program is the pitch.
“After research and working together, they pitch their solution to the company,” Hoffman said. “And oftentimes companies use parts of these solutions, if not the whole solutions. It brings the community into school, and it allows students to show their skills out in the community so that people see that you, as students, have a lot to offer.”
Many businesses have worked with District C, from small businesses like the Raleigh café A Place at the Table to larger ones like William Peace University and Republic Wireless.
“It was so much fun working with my partner,” Ackall said. “And doing something for a problem that they had been struggling with, something that had real significance.”
