Page 8 - 2017-18 LBS Annual Report_Final_Neat

YOU BROUGHT US INTO A NEW GENERATION

“I want to teach Laguna students the process they need to solve problems.
I focus on the steps you apply to solve a real-world issue, rather than the
specifications of a certain machine. The problem solving and collaboration
skills they are learning can be applied to any discipline or career—
many that likely don’t yet exist.”

JOHN PAGANO
Robotics Teacher & Parent – Sallie ’24

When a competitor from the hit television series BattleBots “We needed a place where it felt like we could work,”
joined Laguna in July 2017 to spearhead its growing robotics Pagano says. “It’s hard to feel like it’s okay to get your hands
program, we knew he would lead our students in an exhilirating dirty when you’re not in a space conducive to that.” The new
new direction. lab features industrial rubber floors, butcher block tables,
John Pagano, who recently earned his bachelor’s in Early power tools, project storage areas, student lockers, and more.
Childhood Education, has spent much of his life gaining real- Still, a new work space is just one of the contributions
world, hands-on skills in the fields of robotics and engineering. Pagano is making. Since joining Laguna,
In his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pagano he’s worked hard to collaborate with other In 2018, Laguna
created the nonprofit Northeast Robotics Club, a competitive teachers to make STEM a cross-curricular invested more
robotics program open to students ages 5 through college. program, pairing students across grade- than $350,000
Prior to that, he spent three seasons on BattleBots, challenging levels—for instance, kindergartners work- into classroom
other builders from around the country to design the strongest, ing together with seventh and eighth renovations,
including the new
smartest, fiercest remote-controlled machine. Ultimately, it graders to design an interactive physics Middle and Upper
was his love of teaching robotic skills to kids that brought him station at the Lower School. With his School STEM Lab.
to Laguna. open-door policy, he encourages students
“I love seeing the look on a kid’s face when they do to use the lab’s STEM machines to create projects for other
something they thought was impossible,” Pagano says. “This is classes, friends, and family.
an age in their lives where they can go wild with their creativity. This year, Pagano is taking STEM even further, launching
They’re designing things I’ve never even thought about.” an after-school robotics program for students in grades
Since his arrival, Pagano has been pushing STEM 4 through 6 that will begin competing as a robotics team in
education to the forefront of the Laguna curriculum. In his 2019-2020.
very first year, he was the driving force behind designing “It’s imperative that kids stay on pace with the way
a dedicated STEM Lab for his Middle and Upper School technology is moving,” Pagano says. “They need to be exposed
students so they could immerse themselves more fully in the to things like computer science, CAD work, and technology as
experience of STEM design. early as possible if they want to be competitive in today’s world.”

2017-18 ANNUAL REPORT 7