Soap box derby racing, as shown here, will soon be coming to O.B. Gates Elementary, as Assistant Principal David Copsmith recently won an MCD award to start his project Jump Start.

David Copsmith knows that students need to start preparing early for their academic careers in high school and beyond. As assistant principal at O.B. Gates Elementary, he has seen firsthand that students need more than just book smarts to succeed later in life.

“I’ve seen many students that aren’t interested in learning from books, but they have a great kinetic aptitude,” says Copsmith. “I want to give them motivation to show them that they can have a career working with their hands, but they have to do well in school first.”

His solution? Soap box racers.

Copsmith recently won the MCD Award for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices, winning a grant of $1,822.50 for his project Jump Start. A motivational, hands-on project, Jump Start will give 12 fifth-grade students the opportunity to build a Soap Box Derby racer.

“We have been looking at how to get the technical skills currently only available in high school to the lower ages,” says Copsmith. “Hopefully, working on the cars will get them motivated to do better in school.”

Though Copsmith won the award, the project came from a collaborative effort between Copsmith and Elizabeth James, a special education teacher at Gates.

“This was very exciting for Elizabeth because she has had the idea for this for awhile now, but never knew how to make it happen,” says Copsmith. “I like racing cars and had originally wanted to have the kids work with a real car, but the logistics wouldn’t work, so we decided to do the soap box racers.”

Though work on the cars won’t start until next spring, teachers will begin identifying potential participants this fall. With only 12 fifth-graders able to participate, students will be recommended by teachers and selected by a committee for participation in the program, with selections made close to the Christmas break.

“It’s not going to be a secret, but we are not going to send a big announcement out either,” says Copsmith. “During the first month of school, the teachers will have a chance to observe the students and figure out who would benefit the most from the program.”

Once the students are selected, the participants will be split into three teams of four, working on the three cars either once a week for six weeks or once every other week for 12. The students will be doing more than just building the cars, however; later on the spring, they will participate in the Richmond Soap Box Derby.

“The public participation will be a big part of this project,” says Copsmith. “Not only will the project be a motivational piece and a teambuilding exercise, it will also teach them to support each other as they support the member from their group selected to race in the car.”

Though the MCD grant will only provide funding for this year, Copsmith hopes to continue the project beyond this first year.

“The MCD award is about how to sustain a project, so we do eventually hope to expand it into the fourth grade the year after next,” says Copsmith. “The cost of each car is $600, so we are still looking at ways to raise that money for the coming years. We will probably auction off the cars after the race, so even if we only make one quarter of the cost back, it’s still a good start to fundraising for the next year.”

nderatto@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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