Thursday, July 17, students and staff from Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS) will join representatives from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC), Breeze Technologies and the City of Portsmouth to celebrate the culmination of weeks of work supporting the new AirQuest initiative.
This summer, the division launched AirQuest, an immersive learning experience for rising ninth-grade PPS students focused on air quality, weather and public health. Specifically, students used air quality sensors donated and installed by VIPC and Breeze Technologies at Manor and I.C. Norcom high schools to access real-time environmental data.
Over the course of two, two-week sessions hosted at Manor High School, students analyzed data from the sensors (as well as sensors throughout the commonwealth). They then connected with professionals in fields including urban planning, meteorology, emergency management, public health, and environmental science to learn and discuss obstacles - and possible outcomes.
At the July 17 event, students will present their designed solutions to address urban air quality challenges for attendees.
“We talk about the importance of providing students with hands-on, authentic learning opportunities, and this is exactly what AirQuest has accomplished this summer,” said Dr. Elie Bracy, III, PPS division superintendent. “In these past weeks, our students engaged directly with real-world challenges, and, empowered by their own curiosity, their learning was transformed into meaningful, solution-driven action.”
Though AirQuest was launched in the summer, plans are in place to expand the initiative to the PPS high school curriculum. Insights gathered from teachers, coordinators and students will help inform the integration of content into the division’s Algebra I and Environmental Science courses during the school year.
This ongoing expansion of AirQuest speaks to the connections between math, science and real-world careers as well as the continued partnership with Portsmouth’s Innovation District, where I.C. Norcom is centrally located.
“It’s a rare and powerful opportunity to build technology infrastructure from the ground up while engaging the next generation in solving real-world challenges,” said David Ihrie, VIPC chief technology officer and vice president of strategic initiatives. “VIPC’s collaboration with the City of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Public Schools and Breeze Technologies gives students hands-on STEM experience while supporting data-driven planning for the city’s emerging Innovation District.”
"We are proud to support VIPC and Portsmouth Public Schools in this exciting project, "said Robert Heinecke, Breeze Technologies' founder & chief executive officer. "Air quality is essential for both individual health and environmental quality. Providing students with actual data, tools, and understanding of their very own environment today will enable them to become more empowered community members in the future."
The presentation event will take place Thursday, July 17, at 10 a.m., at the Little Theater of Manor High School (1401 Elmhurst Ln, Portsmouth, VA 23701). Media interested in attending can RSVP at 757-393-8743 or via email to lauren.nolasco@portsk12.com.