District News

Four Whitehall-Yearling High School seniors—Sai Patel, Tiago Aros Perez, Jovanny Romero, and Natinael Fishaye—recently presented their Capstone project to Whitehall Mayor Michael Bivens, Superintendent Dr. Sharee Wells, and other district and city officials. Their presentation highlighted the progress and future goals of their innovative solution to improve urban transportation: a custom-designed scooter rack for students.

The students are enrolled in the Capstone class, a senior-level engineering course where students engage in year-long research and development projects to address real-world challenges. As part of the course, they were tasked with selecting a global initiative to explore, and their team chose to focus on urban transportation—specifically, how access to alternative transit can impact school attendance.

Through extensive data collection and analysis, the group examined tardiness trends among students and identified a need for secure scooter storage as a potential solution. With this research as a foundation, they partnered with Owens Corning, who provided mentorship and engineering support throughout the design process.
Working collaboratively, the students sketched and 3D-modeled their scooter rack prototype, refining their design through multiple iterations based on the Mayor’s Office and Owens Corning feedback. Owens Corning then 3D-printed the prototype, which the students assembled and tested.

During their recent presentation to Mayor Bivens and district officials, the students showcased their current prototype and shared insights gained from the testing phase. The next step in their journey is further refining the design with Owens Corning to optimize the final iteration before launching a pilot program. The team hopes to implement the first set of scooter racks within two months.

This project highlights the students’ engineering and problem-solving skills and demonstrates the impact of collaborative learning, real-world application, and community engagement. Their efforts are paving the way for a more accessible and sustainable mode of transportation for Whitehall students while also serving as an example of student-driven innovation with real community impact.

Stay tuned for updates as the students work toward launching the pilot program and bringing their vision to life!