St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury named a makerspace after an alumnus, who is also the parent of a former student, from whose estate the school is to receive $1 million.
The Thomas J. Kelley ’50, P’79 Makerspace for Robotics & Engineering is a 2,400-square-foot lab, which is home to St. John’s engineering program and robotics team, a state and world champion, said a press release from the school.
“A makerspace is a collaborative workspace inside a school, library or separate public/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing, that uses high tech to no tech tools,” says the website makerspaces.com.
St. John’s, a Xaverian Brothers-sponsored school for boys in grades 7-12, announced that the gift will be used to create an endowed fund to support the operation of the makerspace, which opened in 2017, and to provide professional development for faculty.
“The ability for faculty in all academic departments to utilize our state-of-the-art makerspace will enhance learning and the hands-on experience that is at the very heart of how boys best learn,” said the school’s principal, Margaret Granados.
Alex Zequeira, headmaster, said the school started its engineering program with 12 students in a classroom 10 years ago, and today it is one of the most popular electives, with nearly 90 seniors enrolled this year.
“The space also supports our robotics team that won the state championship in 2019 and 2021 and had the number one autonomous robot in the 2019 world championships in Detroit,” he said.
St. John’s press release said that recent research from the University of Northern Iowa examined how a makerspace curriculum impacts the way learners apply the 4 C’s (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication). The research indicated that students who participate in makerspaces tend to use their creativity to problem-solve, are communicative and collaborative with other makers, and tend to use critical thinking skills when presented with an obstacle.
“This planned estate gift from Mr. Kelley will further transform the education and the experience at St. John’s,” said Mr. Zequeira. “His vision and commitment to sustaining the excellence of our educational and formative experience here at the school will be felt by generations of Pioneers to come.”
Mr. Kelley graduated from St. John’s High School in 1950 at its original site on Temple Street in Worcester. He went on to the College of the Holy Cross, was commissioned an officer for the United States Navy and served the nation for 21 years, the press release said.
He then earned his master’s and doctorate degrees, served five years as dean of the master’s in business program at Anna Maria College and later was a management consultant.
Recently Mr. Kelley wrote, “I am loyal to Saint John’s because it has remained true to its mission.” He often shared with the school his appreciation for it remaining faithful to the founders’ vision. The school was founded in 1898.