Noblis is proud to congratulate the team at our Danville, VA location for their incredible efforts. It is due to their hard work over the past few years that Noblis was recognized with the 2018 Innovation in Education and Community Outreach Award from the Southern Piedmont Technology Council (SPTC). This award recognizes an individual or organization that develops innovative uses of technology to promote and enhance educational opportunities or community outreach.

Following is an excerpt from a story on sptc-va.org and a photo from the award presentation on March 7, 2018. Read the full story here.

STEM education has always been an important initiative for Noblis, and upon seeing the need in Danville, they were eager to dive head first into engaging with the public schools. In July of 2015, a partnership between Dr. Stan Jones, Superintendent of Danville Public Schools, and Noblis CEO, Amr ElSawy, was created to fulfill a mandate by the Virginia Department of Education stating that every child must complete a personal Academic and Career Plan by the fall of their eighth-grade year.  Noblis worked throughout the year with administrators, principals and teachers to develop the program and the Passport Project was born.

The program is also being used as an opportunity to engage students with technology. Through an award from the Danville Regional Foundation (DRF), Noblis and an investment by DPS, funding was established to bring Chromebooks into the classroom for the completion and tracking of each student’s personal Academic and Career Plan.

To ensure a more hands-on learning community, partnerships were created, including, but not limited to, Averett University’s Center for Community Engagement and Career Competitiveness; the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research; Danville Community College (DCC); Danville Parks & Recreation; and American National Bank & Trust Co. Through these partnerships, regular field trips have been established to expose students to post-secondary educational experiences as well as civic-engagement opportunities.

Left to Right: Jon Horin, Noblis; Jordan Jones, National Bonner Leaders Program, Center for Community Engagement and Career Competitiveness, Averett University; Anna Crawley, Noblis; Dr. Debra Holley, Vice President of Academic and Student Services, Danville Community College; Joyce Culley, Coordinator, Career and Technical Education, Danville Public Schools; Stanley B. Jones, Ed.D, Superintendent, Danville Public Schools​​