BARNSTABLE — Superintendent Sara Ahern, PreK-5 Teaching and Learning Director Kari Andrade, and Future Problem Solving Coaches Deb Contrino and Christy Salley are pleased to highlight Barnstable Public Schools' Future Problem Solving program.
The Future Problem Solving (FPS) program was introduced to the district more than 30 years ago and hundreds of Barnstable students have competed in the program statewide and internationally. This year, 80 students in grades 7-9 and 57 students in grades 10-12 will participate and compete in FPS.
FPS is an international academic program where Barnstable students in grades 7-12 compete in a variety of challenges that incorporate problem solving skills to encourage future thinking. FPS focuses on the five C's of learning: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration and Caring.
The program uses a proven 6-Step Problem-Solving process to develop relevant action plans to solve real world issues. The process includes: identifying challenges, selecting underlying problems, producing solution ideas, selecting criteria, applying criteria to top solutions, and then developing a final action plan. The topics this year include food security, rising sea levels, agricultural industry and nanotechnology.
Qualifying students will have the opportunity to compete at the state level at Clark University in Worcester and students who place at the state level will be invited to compete internationally at Indiana University in June.
"Working with Future Problem Solving students to develop their creative writing skills and find their voice has given me both joy and hope for the future," Coach Salley said.
"I feel incredibly honored to be a Future Problem Solving teacher and coach for Barnstable Public Schools," Coach Contrino said. "I am virtually bursting with pride every spring when many of our 7-12 grade Global Issues Future Problem Solving competitors realize they have earned an invitation to engage in state-level and international-level competition."
"By design, Future Problem Solving International utilizes standard-based and skill-based resources to meaningfully engage young people in all the places and spaces they learn. Barnstable students who participate in this highly prestigious academic program gain broad fact-based general knowledge, a deeper understanding of the greater world around them, and a genuine empathy for others as they apply higher-order thinking and complex problem-solving skills. Our problem solvers learn how to think, not what to think, as they are gaining lifelong critical thinking skills."
Learn more about the FPS program here.
