By Robert Scoboria
Twin Valley School District
As superintendent, one of the most rewarding aspects of my role is witnessing education’s profound impact on our students, particularly when we, as a community, come together to foster meaningful learning experiences.
Education is not solely confined to textbooks or standardized tests; it is about sparking curiosity, inspiring innovation, and creating opportunities for students to connect with the world beyond the classroom. Two recent examples, one from our middle school and another from our local career and technology center, demonstrate how powerful that connection can be.
At Twin Valley Middle School, Joli Mattia’s fifth-grade science class transformed a traditional space unit into an unforgettable journey, thanks to a unique family connection.
During a parent-teacher conference, a student’s mother shared that their family friend was astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams. Sunita was orbiting 250 miles above Earth on an extended mission at the time due to safety issues with her spacecraft. That conversation led to a class video being sent to Sunita wishing her and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore a safe return. To the students’ delight, Sunita responded with autographed photos, personal videos, and stories from life in space.
The class engaged deeply with the material, exploring topics ranging from how astronauts sleep to the kinds of music they enjoy aboard the International Space Station. Mattia integrated these materials into a creative classroom project called “Space Madness,” a March Madness-style bracket in which students watched and voted on space-themed videos. The result was a series of lively discussions about planetary systems, gravity, and the conditions necessary for life.
The unit concluded with students designing their own solar systems and creating a thank-you package for Suni. What began as a typical science lesson became a meaningful and memorable experience that inspired students well beyond the curriculum.
Meanwhile, at the Berks Career and Technology Center’s West Campus, students in the computerized machining program are connecting with space in an even more tangible way. Through the NASA HUNCH program, these high school students are fabricating hardware that will be sent to the International Space Station. This year, they are producing precision flanges used in satellite launchers, taking on a more complex challenge than the handrails they built in the previous year’s project.
Instructor Peter Hoffman expressed how proud he is of his students’ dedication and professionalism. He shared with the Reading Eagle that the NASA partnership demands exacting standards, detailed documentation, and the use of specially selected materials. “It’s amazing how they rise to the occasion,” he said. “We can make parts just for exercise, but with this, they’re getting the exercise and also doing something critically important.”
These two stories demonstrate how real-world learning experiences can ignite student engagement and show them what is possible when education extends beyond the classroom. Whether students are designing solar systems or building components destined for orbit, they are discovering that their ideas, efforts, and talents have real-world value and lasting impact.
As we continue to move forward, let us keep in mind that education is not simply about the information we impart, but about the experiences we create. These experiences, like the ones in Mattia’s and Hoffman’s classrooms, inspire our students to reach for the stars.
Robert Scoboria is superintendent of the Twin Valley School District in Berks and Chester counties.
