Central High School juniors team up to eliminate potholes in St. Joseph
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)-- ELA students across the St. Joseph School District recently took part in the Altec Innovation Challenge, teaming up with community partners to tackle real-world problems.
While some students focused on STEM-based projects, others worked alongside local organizations like social workers, the City of St. Joseph and the Mosaic Life Care Foundation to make an impact in the community.
Central High School English teacher Beth Ann Reinert said the experience helps students prepare for life after graduation.
“Not all kids go into college. Some of them are going right into the workspace. So we are working with different organizations to give me a chance to be more prepared for life,” Reinert said.
This marks the district’s third year participating in the challenge and the second year for Reinert’s students.
She said this year’s event was the largest yet and called it an exciting opportunity for students to create meaningful change.
“I hope more businesses will join and continue to give kids this opportunity to do something for the future of the City,” she added.
One student group focused on a problem many local drivers face every day- potholes.
Bailee McDowell said the team originally had a different idea, but they had to change directions after running into licensing issues with the City. Instead, the group decided to focus on educating and influencing the community.
“Because we know affect majority of St. Joseph because 90% of people who commute every day drive their own vehicles and are affected by potholes,” McDowell said.
As the students researched the issue, they were surprised by just how many potholes there are around the city and learned that residents can report them through the City’s online reporting system.
“We wanted to raise the reporting awareness so we can get these potholes fixed faster and have very less of them on the road,” McDowell said.
Junior Hamza Khan helped design the group’s presentation slides and posters, which were displayed around town.
He said the project was challenging, but rewarding.
“It made me push out to do something and try and fix something that will actually help people in the long run,” Khan said.
Khan said he hopes the project not only leads to more potholes being repaired, but also encourages residents to understand how the issue affects the community as a whole.
The idea came from seeing so many drivers hit potholes around town, especially on roads people use every day.
“My biggest takeaway was how big one person can influence the whole community and how much change it can bring to the table to take action to fix or do something,” Khan added.
To spread awareness, the group created posters encouraging residents to use the city’s SeeClickFix online reporting system to report potholes and other road concerns.
