STEM Camp is another. Each summer, the school invites community children to participate in 10 days of rocket-designing, slime-making and robot-building activities that provide elementary and middle school students with an outlet for learning essential math and science skills, disguised as fun. “I’ve always said that you can’t learn without laughing,” says Disseler. “Laughter leads to creativity. Creativity leads to engagement. Engagement leads to motivation. And motivation leads to learning. If you can’t laugh, then you can’t learn. We want our children to enjoy this process of embracing STEM concepts.”
Not Just a Teacher, Also a Leader STEM is one of the many areas where HPU goes above and beyond to prepare students with real classroom experience. Another area is principal preparation. January 2017 welcomed the start of HPU’s Leadership Academy. The new program designed for aspiring principals was made possible by a competitive, $1.87 million grant established by the North Carolina General Assembly. The school was only one of five recipients in the State of North Carolina to be awarded the grant. With a goal to transform low-performing schools into learning environments that result in high performance for all students, the High Point University Leadership Academy produces future principals after one year of intense groundwork, allowing them to earn alternative licensure in school leadership. The academy welcomed teachers from seven different school districts. Of those participants, Jairo Lopez, who attended HPU for his undergraduate degree, says that the program has prepared him for a higher level of leadership. “What first attracted me to HPU as an undergraduate were small classes and the relationships you’re able to form with professors,” says Lopez. “The School of Education was great for my undergrad experience. We had a required practicum that put us in the classroom long before we began student teaching, so I knew the school went the extra mile to prepare students. This program reflects that same level of dedication.” In December, Lopez will complete the program with a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and the certification to serve as a principal in a high-needs school. He says the experience has changed his outlook on the task, and he believes that HPU has provided him with the training necessary to make a difference. “This program has definitely changed the way I see the principal role,” says Lopez. “It’s more than just being a boss or manager; it’s being a lead-learner. And when I think of myself as a future principal, my expectations for myself have definitely changed for the better.” ▲
Stout Family Supports HPU’s School of Education Robert “Bob” and Maggie Stout of Greensboro, North Carolina, supported High Point University’s School of Education with a multi-million dollar gift in the spring. The Stouts are longtime business, civic and city leaders in the Piedmont Triad. Bob Stout is a lifetime High Point University Board of Trustees member who retired from Steel Bar Corp. in Greensboro. He served as chairman for Goodwill Industries, the Greater Greensboro Open (now the Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour) and a number of other groups in the Triad. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, where he played football, and served in the U.S. Air Force. Maggie Stout grew up in Kernersville, North Carolina, and worked as a medical secretary. Her mother was a first-grade teacher at Forsyth Country Day School. “Bob and Maggie’s stewardship exemplifies the caring spirit that we model on our campus,” says Dr. Nido Qubein, HPU president. “The impact of this gift will benefit not only our future teachers, but the lives of students in their classrooms.” In recognition of the family’s commitment to their community, HPU named the School of Education in their honor. The school’s 31,000-square-foot, LEED-certified facility opened in 2012 to house the education and psychology departments in technologically advanced classrooms, computer labs and offices. It features high-tech educational equipment, such as smart boards, a children’s book library, math and science touch-screen games, a methods lab designed to look and feel like a real elementary school classroom, a Mac lab and psychology research booths.
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