Burkburnett ISD named 2019 PBL Champion District

BURKBURNETT, Texas (TNN) -Last week a group of Burkburnett ISD teachers traveled to California to accept the 2019 PBL Champion District award from PBL works, an international recognition.

This makes Burkburnett ISD the first area school district to be honored for their commitment to high-quality project-based learning.

"It was just really rewarding to be recognized for the work that we are doing for PBL with our students," said Casey Hunter, a PBL Instructor.

“The award is a great thing. We are very proud of the award and the recognition that we get around the United States from the company, but also we are more excited about what that award means and what it reflects, and that’s the action of our teachers and the hard work,” said Burkburnett ISD Superintendent, Dr. Tylor Chaplin.

Students dive into questions and problem solving with project-based learning. The teaching method was first introduced to the district two years ago.

“Some of the benefits are that students come away with not just knowledge about the content but then through the process, they are working collaboratively," said Linda Borchardt, a PBL Instructor. “They learn what does it mean to work on a team and they also learn other critical thinking skills.”

All three of them say support is what led them to this achievement.

"One of the things that I think is unique in our district is that we train our teachers but we don't just leave them there," said Borchardt.

“We engaged all of our teachers, all of our admin,” said Dr. Chaplin. “So everybody in the district was involved.”