STEM Education in St' Marys County A sySTEMic approach

1
STEM Education in St. Marys County A
sySTEMic approach
2
Why STEM in St. Marys County?
In October 2002, the State of Maryland designated
St. Marys County as the second Technology
Corridor in the State.
Source Maryland Dept. of Licensing and Regulation
3
Why NOW?

• Employment growth in the technology corridor
• Job needs in engineering fields for PAX River and
  world competition
• Location, location, location
• Rising above the gathering storm

4
Technology Growth in St. Marys County

• 129 tech companies in 2000 handbook
• 225 tech companies in 2006 handbook
• 90.7 percent growth since 1998

Although the major influx of new activity at the
Patuxent River Naval Air Station occurred in the
late 1990s, growth in the number and diversity of
high tech firms continues.
5
NAS PAX Employment Needs

• 17,000 people stationed at NAS PAX.
• 3,000 active duty service members
• 6,900 civil service employees
• 6,400 defense contractor employees
• PAX Partnership has over 300 partners

6
Why STEM?
We must shift our past educational practices and
seek a new paradigm for preparing our future
scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. We
must make sure St. Marys County Public School
students can compete for high paying, highly
technical jobs
F-18 with F-35 (JSF) over NAS Pax River, Photo
courtesy of U.S. Navy.
7
St. Marys County Public Schools
Michael J. Martirano, Ed.D., Superintendent of
Schools
Partnerships
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
8
(No Transcript)
9
STEMInstruction

• Vision
• Provide a continuous pathway of education through
  opportunity that creates STEM-literate graduates
  ready to accept the challenges of advanced
  education and the needs of tomorrows workforce.
• Goals
• GOAL 1. Continuous Pathway
• By August 2010, STEM academies will be fully
  implemented across the elementary, middle, and
  high school feeder pattern (Lexington Park
  Elementary, Spring Ridge Middle, and Great Mills
  High), grades 4-12, with two cohorts of 24
  students at each grade level.
• GOAL 2. Education through Opportunity
• By June 2008, 100 of STEM students will
  participate in extra curricular and co-curricular
  activities expanding learning opportunities in
  the STEM fields.

10
St. Marys County Public Schools
Michael J. Martirano, Ed.D., Superintendent of
Schools
Partnerships
11
The STEM Academies

• 270 Students
• LPES, Grades 4 5 96
• SRMS, Grades 6 7 96
• GMHS, Grades 9 10 78

Lexington Park Elementary
Great Mills High
Spring Ridge Middle
12
Elementary School

• Lexington Park Elementary School
• STEM Academy
• fourth and fifth grade students
• teamed teachers
• comprehensive coursework focused upon the
  interrelation of science, engineering, and
  mathematics.
• 2008-2009
• The fifth grade year will conclude with students
  participating in Star Base Atlantis offered at
  the Patuxent Naval Air Station through the
  Department of Defense.

13
Patuxent River Naval Air StationHuman Systems
14
Patuxent River Naval Air StationHorizontal
Accelerator
15
Elementary-Grade 4
16
Elementary-Grade 5
17
4th grade SMCPS vs. STEM 4
18
5th grade SMCPS vs. STEM 4
19
Middle School

• Spring Ridge Middle School
• STEM Academy
• tailored mathematics, science, and technology
  courses
• interdisciplinary teacher teams
• The courses are designed to deepen understanding
  of STEM learning by exposing students to the most
  current trends in technology, engineering, and
  science.

20
STEM Report on Space Camp
Spring Ridge MS STEM Students who attended Space
Camp shared their experiences with the Board of
Education
21
St. Marys County Board MemberEngineering Design
22
Patuxent River Naval Air StationEnvironmental
Engineering
23
Middle School-Grade 6
24
Middle School-Grades 7 and 8
25
6th grade SMCPS vs. STEM 6
26
7th grade SMCPS vs. STEM 6
27
8th grade SMCPS vs. STEM 6
28
High School
The Great Mills High School STEM Academy offers
unique courses in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics, giving students
extraordinary knowledge and skills, as well as
career exploration in numerous science and
engineering pathways. The curricula includes
dedicated research classes founded upon the
application of mastered material, integrated
contemporary technologies, and extensive
problem-solving experience.
29
Patuxent River Naval Air StationMaterials Lab
30
Patuxent River Naval Air Station - Gases
This project is a presentation by Dr. Narducci
and Bryan Otis from Pax River Naval Base to the
STEM academy.   Students were introduced to
Liquid Nitrogen, atom cooling and tracking.
  Students previous learned knowledge of the
Ideal Gas Laws allowed them to predict how the
balloons would react to the liquid nitrogen and
reflect how fast atoms move.  
31
Patuxent River Naval Air Station - Optics
This project is developed by Dr. Linda Mullen
and Brandon Cochenour from Pax River Naval Base
for the STEM academy.
This project will involve a demonstration and lab
work in transmission through water. Students
discovered the Core Learning GoalTyndal Effect
and mathematically interpreted the amount of
light a laser produces given different scattering
and absorbing agents.
32
STEM 9Engineering Lab
33
High School-Grade 9
34
High School-Grades 10-12
35
STEM 9 Honors Algebra II
SMCPS average 77 STEM average 78.5 Median
80.5 (Outlier 33)
36
STEM 9 Chemistry
SMCPS average 70 STEM average 88.2 Median
89.5 (Outlier 67)
37
STEM Technology

• Overview of the embedded technology

38
Smart Technology

• Interactive Tablets
• Interactive Student Response
• Mobile Laptop Carts
• 8 Stationary Computers per Classroom
• Visualizer / Presenter
• ProbeWare

39
Transportation

• Bus transportation is provided at designated hubs
  for all students enrolled at the STEM Academy

40
STEM Operations

• Mentorship
• Internships
• Pledges
• Advisory Group
• Foundations
• Schedules
• Grants
• Hosting Officials

41
Capstone Activities
42
Mentorship

• A key feature of the STEM Academy program is the
  involvement of local business and industry
  individuals from science, mathematics and
  engineering career fields.
• Mentors will assist students with coursework
  offering academic and technical expertise as
  appropriate, and provide direction for specific
  senior project work.
• Mentors will also visit classrooms and present on
  selected topics in mathematics, science, and
  engineering to enhance the instructional program.
• Mentors may also provide access to their
  workplace and other sites within their industry
  or business.

43
Internships

• Local business and industry representatives may
  also offer paid or non paid internship
  experiences for seniors and juniors based on
  student interest and aligned with career pathways
  in STEM. These experiences will be coordinated by
  the school system and appropriate businesses.
• Every effort will be made to link the internship
  with the particular work addressed by the
  students senior project or other research
  conducted in required or elective courses. In
  many cases, students will strive to identify
  summer internship experiences that offer
  authentic work in science, mathematics, or
  engineering. This approach will help maintain a
  strong career focus aligned with academic
  studies.

44
Pledges

• Local business and industry support is essential
  to the success of this dynamic and challenging
  instructional program for our most advanced
  students. A foundation has been formed for those
  wishing to give direct monetary support to the
  consortium.
• In some cases, individuals or business partners
  may prefer to purchase or donate specific
  equipment or supplies for the many advanced level
  courses offered in this initiative. This is
  greatly appreciated and can be coordinated with
  the STEM coordinator.

45
Advisory Group

• An Advisory Group, comprised of community
  partners and school system personnel, will
  provide ongoing counsel to the STEM Consortium
  leadership.
• Their input will be sought for student selection,
  curriculum refinement, and classroom construction

46
Foundation

• A 501(c)3 tax exempt Foundation will provide a
  vehicle for community members and business
  partners to donate funds to support the goals of
  the STEM initiative.

47
STEM Funding

• Local Funding 1,500,000
• MSDE Planning Grant FY08 25,000
• MSDE Implementation Grant FY08 350,000
• Hoyer Earmark Grant FY09 478,000
• Applied for MSDE Initiatives Grant FY09 100,000
• Patuxent Partnership yearly 15,000

48
Hosting Officials

• Dr. Grasmick, State Superintendent
• Congressman Hoyer
• Senator Dyson
• Delegate Bohannon
• Board of County Commissioners
• Board of Education Members
• Adm. Eastburg, NAS PAX
• Capt. Ives, NAS PAX
• Capt. Scassero, NAS PAX
• Dr. Thomas, NASA Astronaut

49
Dr. Grasmick visit to SRMS STEM
50
MSDE Leadership visit to STEM
51
Congressman Hoyer visit to SRMS STEM
52
Dr. Thomas, NASA Astronaut visit to SRMS STEM
53
(No Transcript)