Severna Park High School Students Develop Award-Winning App

A mobile application from Severna Park High School students was recently named best in state in Verizon's second annual "Innovative App Challenge."

In the contest, students design a mobile application that will address a school or community need or problem.

"The innovative app concept developed by Severna Park High School students is called Pocket Formulas," Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Melanie Ortel said.

"It organizes formulas and acts as a study guide for students in advanced-level math, science and technology classes," Ortel said.

Severna Park's submission was one of than 1,300 nationwide.

Next, "Pocket Formulas" will compete against other state winners at the regional level.

Twenty-four regional finalists will be selected on Feb. 4; and on Feb. 19, Verizon will pick the national winners. 

Regional winners receive a $5,000 cash grant for the school and faculty training from MIT.

National winners get $15,000 grants for their schools toward STEM programs; a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet for each team member; and coding training from MIT Media Lab's Center for Mobile Learning. They may also present their apps at the 2014 National TSA Conference in Washington, D.C., courtesy of Verizon. 

The Verizon Foundation sponsored the contest in partnership with the Technology Student Association to promote student use of technology for problem-solving.

Severna Park isn't the first school in Anne Arundel County to make a name for itself in the app world.

One of last year’s winners was South River High School in Edgewater, according to Verizon.

Even if it doesn't advance to the regional competition, the Severna Park team will receive access to a self-guided app development course from the MIT Media Lab, as the prize for winning at the state level.

Related: South River Students Win National Mobile App Design Competition