When Science Leadership Academy’s class of 2010 first entered high school in the fall of 2006, their entrance marked a growing concentrated effort to better prepare students for the workforce by including advanced technology in the curriculum.

    The city of Philadelphia, along with The Franklin Institute, is helping this cause with its sponsorship of the Science Leadership Academy, a public high school focused on the sciences with a personal touch. A magnet school with an emphasis on “inquiry-based science,” SLA offers a curriculum focused on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship.

    Founded in 2003, SLA not only emphasizes excellence in the classroom, but also in the working field. The school allows students to intern at various businesses, including The Franklin Institute, which further adds to the school’s educational value.
   
    One impressive feature of SLA is the schools use of laptops, which replaces the traditional textbook used in most public schools in the United States. With a one-to-one student/laptop ratio, SLA allows students to work completely online.

    While most schools rely on textbooks as a reference tool for their students, SLA fully operates over the students’ laptops, their text materials included.  All educational assignments are both posted and completed over the school’s “Moodle” network, which allows students to receive immediate feedback on both their homework and class work.
 
    As a “project-based” institute, SLA allows students to team up and present their ideas through projects instead of the traditional test or exam. “The research collaboration with other students really helps us understand the content,” said senior SeLarra Armstrong.

    Matthew Kay, an English teacher and academic advisor at SLA, has a strong belief in technology and its effect on their students. “It’s mostly a good one. It gives them more opportunities to be creative. Technology allows them to share their work a lot more easily and gain access to information from everyone else. It really speeds up communication,” said Kay.

    However, technology can also have a negative impact on a student’s education. At the nearby School of the Future in Philadelphia, which also has a high use of technology in everyday operations, teachers have been unable to raise test scores in the four years since its opening in 2005, according to an article on eschoolnews.com.

    While the Science Leadership Academy has been more successful, the school also has its own faults. At SLA, the laptops can sometimes disrupt students from a lecture or other directions from the teacher.

    “Sometimes were tempted to just goof around on the computers, but the teachers make sure we stay on track,” said junior Da Vonte Martin.

    “It can serve to distract. Sometimes we have the screens down during a lesson, or have the students put the Macs in their backpacks. But in the end, it comes down to how good the teacher is,” said Kay.