Downtown Doral Charter Schools Among Finalists at Samsung’s Solve For Tomorrow Competition
Who better to solve the issues of the future than those that will inherit it? That is exactly what students at Downtown Doral Charter Upper School are committed to help doing. This year, two teachers and three students have proceeded to the finals of Samsung’s Solve For Tomorrow competition. This state-wide contest challenges students to identify and tackle issues pertaining to global politics, climate change, school safety, personal safety, mental health, school bus commuting, and much more. They must demonstrate a true understanding of the issue and put forth solutions that are rooted in science, technology, engineering and math.
The Solving For Tomorrow competition gives students the opportunity to put their STEM skills the test—demonstrating a mastery of leveraging science, technology, engineering, and math. Downtown Doral Charter Upper Schools holds the prestigious GOLD STEAM designation, and its students have shown an unparalleled knowledge of those critical core subjects.
Dr. Ovares and Adriana Quiros
Ms. Martinez, Dr. Ovares, Adriana Quiros, Pablo Mascaro and Mauro Denovellis have entered the finals for their innovative idea to tackle Florida’s potential water crisis in the future. Most of the State’s fresh water—the water we all use on a daily basis—is pumped from the Biscayne Aquifer. The Aquifer is a natural hollow formation underneath the Florida surface that is completely encapsulated in limestone. As ground water penetrates the soil and makes its way to the aquifer it passes through the limestone, which acts as the perfect natural filter. It has been discovered that, due to the high degree of pumping, the water supply within the aquifer is depleting, and salt water intruding into the Aquifer as a result of the void left behind is becoming a true threat. The salt water will decrease the purity of the water, and require desalination in the future—which is time consuming and costly. The students at Downtown Doral Charter Upper School have devised a way of reclaiming fog—which normally occurs in the morning hours—and injecting that freshly purified evaporated water back into the Aquifer to keep it in balance. The more the Aquifer is filled, the less potential there is for saltwater intrusion.
Ms. Martinez, Pablo Mascaro and Mauro Denovellis
The next phase in the finals is for the students and teachers to present a lesson plan where they will explain how to solve the issues they have made the subject of their submission. 50 state winners will advance to the next phase of the competition and receive $20,000 in technology and supplies, as well as a video kit to help document their project in action.
At the end of the competition, one state winner will be chosen as the Sustainability Innovation Award Winner, and will receive and additional $50,000 prize package of eco-conscious classroom technology.
We wish our students and teachers at Downtown Doral Charter Upper School the best of luck as they progress in the finals!
For questions about the school and the student project, please reach out to Ms. Mederos at [email protected].
