On A Positive Note: McGuffey High School Students Build Bustling City
CLAYSVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) -- The creation of an entire city kept students busy and connected at McGuffey High School during the pandemic.
Denise Leigh's business education class started with a vision that eventually led to the involvement of 10 other departments in the school. Her entire classroom is taken up by the scaled city called "Highlandburgh," home of the Highlanders.
Each student chose a business or two to research and construct.
"They wanted this to be a space so exciting that we didn't only work there, but we wanted to live there and play there," Leigh said.
"We really were learning together and collaborating and really forming a community of entrepreneurs," Leigh added.
The classmates built and researched buildings, including hospitals, detective agencies, law firms and restaurants.
Desmond Johnson is a senior at McGuffey. He said, "This is my first year taking a business class, so I was really excited to make a building in the city. ... I learned a lot."
The students even created a model of the Gateway Center building, where KDKA-TV is housed in downtown Pittsburgh.