Teaching Beyond the Textbook: How Ken Boland Turns Ideas Into Opportunity

Teaching Beyond the Textbook: How Ken Boland Turns Ideas Into Opportunity

Every great teacher has a running list.

Ideas to try. New ways to explain difficult concepts. Better ways to help students connect with what they’re learning.

For Warwick High School Technology & Engineering teacher Ken Boland, that list never seems to get any shorter.

“When I plan a lesson, I want students to be engaged,” Ken said. “I want them to experience the concepts they’re learning, not just hear about them.”

That mindset is what led Ken to apply for his first Warwick Education Foundation grant shortly after joining Warwick. He wanted a more engaging way to teach programming in his Digital Electronics class and saw programmable drones as the perfect fit.

Since then, Warwick Education Foundation grants have helped him continue expanding hands-on learning opportunities. Updated electronics trainers strengthen students’ understanding of foundational concepts, while new energy kits bring lessons about energy consumption and alternative energy sources to life.

Each resource serves a different purpose, but they all support the same goal: creating learning experiences that are relevant, engaging, and memorable.

“These grants have greatly improved my ability to teach using relevant and engaging materials,” Ken shared. “They’ve also challenged me to continue developing my own skills and depth of knowledge so I can be a more impactful teacher for my students.”

One of Ken’s favorite moments comes during the programmable drone unit, when students put weeks of coding and programming into practice by navigating an obstacle course.

“The collaboration happens naturally,” he said. “Students discuss different methods, help each other make adjustments, and work through problems together. Watching them overcome those obstacles with a positive attitude is just as rewarding as seeing them develop skills they’ll use in their future careers.”

Those experiences are exactly why Warwick Education Foundation grants matter.

“Without the grants and the equipment they provide, teachers would not be able to achieve the same depth of learning for some of the skills they teach.”

Having taught in other school districts before coming to Warwick, Ken has seen firsthand how unique that support is. Today, he’s not only a teacher but also a Warwick parent, giving him an even greater appreciation for the community’s investment in its schools.

“As both an employee of the district and a community resident with young children in the school district, it means a lot to me that there are people in this community who are willing to make donations so that teachers can get the resources needed to teach in effective ways.”

Great teachers are always looking for better ways to help students learn. Thanks to the generosity of Warwick Education Foundation donors, educators like Ken have the freedom to turn those ideas into meaningful learning experiences that prepare Warwick students for whatever comes next.

Want to help put more tools in the hands of students like Ken’s? Visit warwickef.org/support.