PSP Foundations is a new course that was recently announced for rising Pinewood juniors and seniors. Beginning next school year, the class will serve as a scaled-down version of the main PSP course. The Pinewood Social-Entrepreneurship Program is a rigorous course designed to help students create lasting change in the world in areas they are passionate about.
Michelle Gannon, Director of PSP, explained why the course is one worth taking for students who want to explore social entrepreneurship without the heavy commitment.
“It’s a wonderful way to be able to dip your toe into [social entrepreneurship] and test out an interest that you might have,” Gannon said. “Maybe you aren’t quite sure about your interest in marketing, communications, or business. This is a great opportunity for you to test that out and see it in the real-world context.”
Writing teacher Sabrina Strand explained that the Foundations class can help students build upon prior research. Strand has a two-year-long project developed over the course of freshman and sophomore year known as the Societal Awareness Project. In it, students pick a real-world social issue they feel passionate about and research it thoroughly.
“The Foundations class is a really good launching point for students who want to take what they have learned over the ninth and tenth grades about their SAP topics and make it actionable,” Strand said. “It feels great when you’ve researched a topic a lot and then actually execute change in that field.”
Current PSP junior Alisha Ramani reflects on her experience with the program and explains why she believes this opportunity is an amazing one.
“Personally, PSP has taught me so much about myself, and also about systems and societal issues,” Ramani said. “I’m really excited for other students to be able to be part of those conversations.”
Gannon additionally expressed that student involvement in the course is related to interest in the PSP class in the future in addition to the less time commitment.
“It will help them determine long-term whether or not they want to invest the year and a half into the program, and whether or not that’s something exciting that they’re interested in,” Gannon said. “But it also can be a way for kids who either did not get into the traditional PSP class or didn’t have time in their schedule, but yet still want to explore this concept on a smaller scale.”
Ramani summarized the benefits of the new program for future students, saying that the course provides unique educational experiences.
“I think it’s really great that students have the opportunity to learn about systems and societal issues and conflicts but not have to invest a year and a half into a specific project,” Ramani said.
