5/25/2021
Year-long student projects culminate in positive change
Ava Aniello drops off donations at the North Providence Animal Shelter as part of her year-long Project-Based Learning research at Ricci Middle School.
NORTH PROVIDENCE – Students at Ricci Middle School are taking their lessons outside of the classroom and into the community, where they’re making a difference with a series of year-long projects.
Eighth-grade social studies teacher Teresa Connors first applied the concept of project-based learning in her classroom in 2017.
The idea is for students to select their own year-long passion projects to better the community.
“It’s great to watch the process unfold throughout the year. The students are prompted to make a difference in their school, community, state, country or world. They research their own interests and decide upon their own products/projects,” Connors said, noting that this is the time of year “when I am happily overwhelmed and proud of