WASHINGTON PARK — When Timuel D. Black graduated from Edmund Burke Elementary School in 1932, he never imagined he would have a space at the school dedicated in his honor.
But on Thursday, the 96-year-old historian, human rights activist and former adjunct professor at Roosevelt University and Columbia College returned to his elementary school for the grand opening of the Timuel D. Black Innovation Space.
Joined by school officials, community members, students and staff, Black saw the unveiling of the space that aims to use technology to open new doors for students at the Washington Park elementary school.
In 2014, the school, at 5356 S. King Drive, received a federal grant to support initiatives to increase technological development and learning inside the school, Principal Jessica Biggs said.
Biggs said the project came together through collaboration with University of Chicago's Chicago Public Schools Internet in School Project and other community groups invested in the advancement of students at the school and the greater Washington Park community.
With the money, the school transformed its library into the Timuel D. Black Innovation Space. It features 10 work stations that include a tablet, a microphone and computer screens with split-screen capabilities, which allows three students to work collaboratively at a station at once.
The room helps to infuse technology into the standard curriculum, Biggs said.
"Most recently, the first-grade class had a habitat unit and animated a video and wrote narration for them," Biggs said.
Technology coordinator Karon Kaleel said the idea for the room emerged as a way to better engage students using technology.
"A lot of these kids are musically or visually inclined, and we wanted to create a space where they could tap into those talents," Kaleel said.
"The goal is to get them to think like entrepreneurs and evelop an independent mindset," Kaleel said.
"We are designing an elective course for the next school year, which has a 10-week audio-and-visual segment, a home design segment, a coding segment that culminates with the creation of a product and a marketing campaign."
"Ultimately, this is here to create a natural environment where they can work and collaborate together," Kaleel said. "We want to broaden their scope, and open their minds beyond their block, beyond the city and the state, and let them know there are many possibilities."
Black said he hopes the lab motivates a new generation of students to overcome difficult circumstances and thrive.
"This space opens a lot of opportunities for these kids," Black said. "I didn't come from a wealthy family ... but if you're given the opportunity — like this — you can start from the bottom and make it to the top."
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