Families packed the halls of High Point School on Tuesday night where student projects sparked smiles, questions and plenty of pride during District 135’s first Innovator Expo.
The event at the Orland Park school, 14825 West Ave., invited families and community members to explore a self-guided tour of student-led demonstrations that showed how technology is transforming learning across the district.
High Point School students, Rayan Joseph and Rifat Salem, showed attendees the color-coded cars they created, also known as Indi Robot Cars, that drove on a track led by color-coded tracks.
“We learned about coding in library, and I wanted to know more,” Rifat, 8, of Orland Park, said.
“It’s really incredible that they’re discovering coding at such a young age,” Leena Joseph, mother of 7-year-old, Rayan, of Orland Park, said. “He loves it and it keeps him occupied.”
The expo featured 39 booths, each hosted by two to six students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Every school in the district was represented.
Students showcased everything from podcasts and coding kits to Dash robots, Glowforges, Logitech Crayons and programmable Ozobots. The projects were developed during regular classroom time.
“We wanted to use projects that teachers were already doing in their classrooms,” said Allie Kaleta, the district’s community relations specialist. “The Expo wasn’t about adding extra work, it was about celebrating what was already happening.”
Teachers submitted more than 50 interest forms, and the Innovator Expo committee selected 39 projects to showcase.
Among the highlights were a fifth-grade class that studied the stock market and created podcasts where they “interviewed CEOs” from their chosen companies.
First- and third-grade students who partnered as pen pals used Book Creator and Logitech Crayons to design digital letters, complete with recorded audio responses. Junior high students displayed wooden computers they built by hand.
Kaleta said the event grew from District 135’s goal to boost family and community engagement during the 2024-2025 school year.
“The Innovator Expo gives attendees the opportunity to see how technology is involved in classrooms every day while learning about new ideas from students,” she said.
Students also gained valuable skills from the experience, Kaleta added.
“They were able to show off their hard work and practice their presentation skills,” she said. “We hope everyone who attended walked away with new knowledge and the inspiration to try something at home or in their classroom.”
Fourth-grader, Kitty Yellon, used her creative talents to design a 3D model of the Great Smoky Mountains.
“I went to the Great Smoky Mountains to visit and didn’t get a good photo, so I wanted to create my own 3D model to show everyone how amazing it is,” Kitty, 10, of Orland Park, said.
District leaders said the enthusiasm at High Point School made it clear that the Innovator Expo is a tradition worth continuing.
“We are extremely proud to launch this new opportunity for our families, community members and staff,” Kaleta said. “It is exciting to celebrate the amazing work our students and teachers have done all year.”
