OAK TREE
Okaloosa STEM Academies
“Cultivating growth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics”
Proposal to Florida’s Great Northwest, Inc.
WIREDNorthwest Florida Initiative
for
Accelerated Math & ScienceProgram-OkaloosaSchool District Model
January 2008
Contacts
Dr. Alexis TibbettsDr. Diane Kelley
Superintendent of SchoolsDirector of Curriculum
120 Lowery Place SE120 Lowery Place SE
Fort Walton Beach, FL32548Fort Walton Beach, FL32548
(850) 833-3100(850) 833-3100
Ms. Shawnea TallmanMs. Debra Davis Curriculum Specialist, Science Curriculum Specialist, Mathematics 120 Lowery Place SE 120 Lowery Place SE
Fort Walton Beach, FL32548Fort Walton Beach, FL32548
(850) 833-5872(850) 833-5871
WIREDNorthwest Florida Initiativefor
Accelerated Math & ScienceProgram-OkaloosaSchool District Model
OAK TREE
Okaloosa STEM Academies
“Cultivating STEM growth”
Organization
Oak TreeAcademies extend roots deep into ground levels of education providing nutrients that will develop sturdy STEMs and result in a fully developed canopy for the math and science workforce. The branches of the Oak Tree include: STEM the GAPAcademy, P- STEM Academy, E- STEM Academy, and T-STEMAcademy.
- E-STEMAcademy seeks to sprout a synergistic branch in math and science education. Teachers will partner withscientists and engineersto accelerate the curriculum with an intense focus on alternative energies, medical technologies, environmental sciences and sustainability, and/or other STEM-related areas.
- STEM the GAPAcademy seeks to establish a new cultural branch in math and science education. Students of low-achieving groups will be enabled by teachers, community mentors, and scientists with an accelerated curriculum saturated with science, math and an empowering attitude.
- P-STEMAcademy seeks to fertilize the soil of math and science interest by engaging parents and community members in STEM activities.
- T-STEMAcademyaddresses the seeds of education. Science and Math teachers must be given the opportunity to develop a deeper knowledge of the content material, and they must continually train to keep-up with the rapid changes in technology and science application in order to accelerate students in math and science. University partnerships, establishing collaborative research and mentorship opportunities, will germinate an accelerated teaching force.
WIRED grant funds will be used for the three years of development and implementation of Oak Tree, an innovative support program for acceleration in math and science. Designed by OkaloosaCountySchool District as a complementary program to CHOICE, Oak Tree will target students in grades 6-12 who may have an aptitude, but not an attitude, for STEM. The vehicle of change is multifaceted; an integral aspect is to develop a culture of expectation, excellence, and excitement by adequately equipping science, technology, engineering, and math teachers.
Bay Area Psychological ConsultantsEngineers for America
Benshoof Tallman and Tyler
Implementation
In support of Oak Tree, the OkaloosaCountySchool District will work in partnership with the University of West Florida and other educational partners to develop a curriculum of accelerated math and science, directing more students towardmath and science careers. While the curriculum will be based on the new nationally-aligned Sunshine State Standards, the true goal of Oak Tree is to accelerate math and science by changing the technique of teaching, to change the mindset of learning, and to integrate math and science career education into the curriculum.
Sixth Grade
Sally Ride Science Careers Classroom Sets [Totally Amazing Careers (TAC) in Environmental Sciences, TAC in Earth Sciences, TAC in Health Sciences, and TAC in Space Sciences] will be utilized by all sixth grade students. This will begin to establish the relevance of studying math and science. Additionally, teachers will receive training on the implementation of hands-on activities and connections to these careers via T-STEM. Part of this training will include partnering with Engineers for America (EFA) for field-trip training to the AirForceArmamentMuseum. EFA provides hands-on activity kits, which demonstrate foundational principals of engineering. The activities are relevant to displays at the museum. Students will receive a guided tour by a volunteer engineer and will engage in the EFA-developed activities while at the museum. Teachers will also routinely utilize DataLoggers for students to collect, analyze and report data. Calendar Math Algebra Readiness will be added to all math classes.
Seventh Grade
Students will personalize careers by independently researching their choice from a STEM list (provided to the teacher during T-STEM training). During a P-STEM Career Fair Night, students will present information or demonstrations related to the career. Students will attend a science career assembly that will highlight opportunities in CHOICE Institutes and OakTreeAcademies.T-STEMAcademy will focus on the implementation of LEGO NXT Robotics in the science classroom. Each middle school will develop a FIRST LEGO League team for a district competition.All non-participating seventh grade students will be invited to attend the FIRST Competition. Some students will be encouraged to enter into high school-level math and science courses; however, all students will traverse more rigorous expectations. The more rigorous curriculum will add depth andadditional connections…and not more homework. For instance, the Go Solve curriculum from Scholastic will enhance students’ problem solving skills and readiness for accelerated math.
Eighth Grade
Students will engage in regular lab activities(at least 5 per nine-weeks),relating those activities to careers. Students will participate in independent or team research and prepare a presentation to report their findings. All middle schools will conduct science fairs to provide a venue for presentations. Any level student may prepare the paperwork required to enter the Regional Fair, so that they are eligible for selection to participate; however, all honors-level students will prepare a regional quality project. With support from their teachers and community partners, students will be encouraged to seek workforce mentors in the endeavor. Honors Biology will be added to the eighth grade science curriculum.All eight grade students will participate in at least one STEM fieldtrip. Teachers will receive instruction at a T-STEMAcademy in both STEM career connections and science fair preparation techniques. As an additional component to T-STEM,Texas Instruments will provide NspireTM trainingto facilitate the routine use of TI-NspireTMequipment implementation in the algebra classroom.This technology is used for the linking of key mathematical representations.
Go Solve, a research-based, problem-solving computer program for intervention, will be implemented at all middle schools. Recognizing that some students need added assistance to accelerate in order to reach their potential, intensive math and summer-intervention programs will benefit from Go Solve.
MiddleSchoolSummerBridge
Stem-the-Gap will host a middle school Summer Bridge Program for students who are at the lower boundary in achievement level. These students, who in the past may have regressed during summer break, will be afforded the opportunity to progress and subsequently enter the fall in an accelerated class.
Ninth-Twelfth Grades
Science Implementation
Grade Level / Implementation Plan Dependant on Entry-level from Middle School –BeyondTwelfth Grade Progression in Science for MedicalTechnologiesAcademyCore Science / Academy Science / Core Science / Academy Science / Core Science / Academy Science
9 / Biology / Honors Biology / Honors Chemistry
10 / Chemistry / Honors Chemistry / Honors Physics
11 / Pharmacy Tech I/ CHOICE Applied Health Institute / Honors Physics / Pharmacy Tech I/
CHOICE Applied Health Institute / AP Chemistry/ AP Biology / Dual (UWF)
Pharmacy/Medical
12 / Pharmacy Tech II/ CHOICE Applied Health Institute / AP Biology/ AP Chemistry / Pharmacy Tech I/
CHOICE Applied Health Institute / Dual (UWF) Pharmacy/Medical
Math Implementation
Grade Level / Implementation Plan Dependant on Entry level from Middle School –Beyond Twelfth Grade Progression in Math for MedicalTechnologiesAcademy9 / AlgebraIA / Algebra I / Geometry Honors / Algebra II Honors
10 / Algebra IB / Geometry I / Honors Algebra II / Pre-Calculus
11 / Geometry / Algebra II / Pre-Calculus / AP Calculus
12 / Algebra II / Trig/Analytic Geometry
(or other level 3 math) / AP Calculus / AP Statistics/
Dual Enrollment Math
College/Program/Workplace / College Math/
Workforce Math Competencies / College Math/
Workforce Math Competencies / College Math/
Workforce Math Competencies / College Math/
Workforce Math Competencies
Oak Tree provides for math and science acceleration…at all levels…beyond the high school graduation requirements. Students will follow a progression that will prepare them for the next level: professional program; college; university; or workforce. Our first academy implementation, the MedicalTechnologiesAcademy, is shown above.“Med STEM” Academy will seek to surgically prune traditional science and math education creating stronger branches. Teachers and medical partners will saturate the secondary curriculum with accelerated medical technologies, math, and science. Students will be prepared for employment as a Pharmacy Tech or other medical tech field; for entrance into a community college or university pre-med, pre-pharmacy, nursing, or other medical-relatedprogram or career; or for continued study in an early admission medical/pharmacy program of study. Students will have the opportunity to be eligible for Bright Futures Scholarships. Part of the development plan is to work with CVS/pharmacy® (CVS) and the Florida Department of Education to endorse Pharmacy Tech as Gold Seal qualifying.
T-STEMAcademy will take this “acceleration in progression” even further by enriching each course with active inquiry/problem solving, out-of-class activities, and career connections.Instead of disconnected recipe or arts and crafts science, labs will be redesigned into semi-guided inquiries, where small learning groups develop greater problem solving skills as they design, carry-out, and report on meaningful, relevant data.High school math teachers (algebra through calculus) will receive training on Texas Instrument’s NspireTM and each high school will receive a class set of graphing calculators.
Oak Tree seeks to address all aspects of improving student achievement. In his recent speech to congress, Skip Fennell, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics(NCTM) President, highlighted the role of parents in educational planning.
“I would like to address an element of a child’s education that is often overlooked by policy experts and elected officials. As members of the National Science Board and other prominent education leaders have noted, a child’s first—and perhaps most—influential teacher is a parent. Any call to action—small or large—must recognize the crucial role that parents play in encouraging children and exposing them to knowledge and ideas about any topic or subject, including mathematics. Without parental support and involvement, it will be very difficult to convince young people of the urgency and importance of STEM literacy in this country.”
P-STEMAcademy will distribute family help guides based on NCTM parental math aid guides. P-STEMAcademy will also support school science fairs with Adult Sponsor training and a “science fair help” publication. Community science-related companies will be asked to promote volunteers as mentors. Family Nights will be implemented to provide parents with assistance and materials to help their students achieve.
OAK TREE
Okaloosa STEM Academies
“Cultivating STEM growth”
“The whole country has been in denial…, and now we’re sort of at a Sputnik moment.” This quote by Terry Bergeson, New York Superintendent of Public Instruction, best states the urgency of altering our educational plan to accelerate students in math and science. According to the latest TIMMS report, the US is ranked below Hong Kong, Japan, Belgium, Netherlands, Latvia, Hungary, and even Russia in mathematics. Worse than that, the report ranked our twelfth grade students 19th out of 21 nations. While a matter of national pride, the state of math and science impacts far more than our ego. Our society’s ability to develop and maintain economic growth is vital to our nation’s continued prosperity, and perhaps to our survival. The educational plan must empower students with better math and science skills when entering the workforce. Relevant connections to workforce applications help to instill direction and a vision for their future. A 2007 Needs Assessment, prepared for Employ Florida Banner Center of Excellence, reports that our county has high clusters of total employment for Life Sciences, Aviation and Aerospace, Information Technology, Finance and Professional Services, and Security and Defense: all of which are deep-rooted in math and/or science skills. Life Sciences alone accounts for 8-11% of the total employment in our county and reaches as high as 15% within our region. The demand for Pharmacy Technicians will grow by over 5,000 jobs by 2014. Over that same time period, 52,000 Florida jobs will be added in Life Science. Most of these jobs will require training beyond a typical high school diploma.
It is well documented by multiple studies that students who are actively engaged in inquiry/problem-solving increase achievement by about 20%. In those with “achievement gaps,” the difference is far more dramatic. FCAT data will be used to assess improvement in math and science skills; however, interest in science careers are more difficult to track. One of the goals of Oak Tree is to increase the preparedness and number of students entering specific CHOICE institutes, which require a strong math and science foundation. Student numbers and graduation rates from these institutes will be monitored. The ACT college entrance examination serves as a predictor of college preparedness. Even though our district scores at the top of the Florida school districts in science, only 27% of the college-prep student taking the ACT had a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher in College Biology. Studies done by ACT have shown that even one additional advanced class can greatly improve the student’s college preparedness and thus potential for success and graduation.
The desire to achieve is a significant component to potential. As part of the STEM the Gap Academy Summer Bridge Program, students will hear guest speakers link learning to being able to reach career goals.Striving for Perfection Ministries members and other community organizations will stand in the gap for students that may be disconnected from, or lack, parental support.Well established career goals, as well as multi-tiered routes to enter the workforce, prevent that dead-end feeling that fuels the drop-out rate. Oak Tree should increase student performance by accelerating students’ studies in math and science, thus better preparing them for progression beyond high school.
"The challenge is not to find better ways of teaching facts," said Arden Bement, director of the National Science Foundation. "Rather, it is to find better ways of teaching students how to observe, imagine, frame questions and learn by experimentation. These are the fundamentals of science--the principles that can prepare students for a world in which change comes faster than any course or test could ever change."
As well articulated by Arden Bement, T-STEM is an essential component in accelerating student performance in math and science, thus better preparing them for the workplace. Bay Area Psychological Consultants have agreed to help in the development of workplace skills strategies, to be integrated in lab activities. These will include business ethics and conflict resolution. Teaching only facts is no longer a viable plan of education.
Ultimately, Oak Tree will provide multiple pathways to post-secondary education. For example, sixth grade students who learn about a science career in nursing may finish high school with an Associates of Science in Nursing; however, they may branch off into pharmacy tech, orthotics, or early-admission pharmacy school. The E-STEM Medical Technologies accelerated math and science branch feeds many stems. This will be the case for other Oak Tree Academies as well. Nurturing a lifelong interest in science, exposing students to workforce opportunities, and developing the math skills to support that pursuit are the keys to this quest’s success. Active, engaging learning that is connected to workforce careers will provide a relevant link from real learning to real life.
We must not let the wood of our past labors fire the fuels of other nations because we failed to provide a nurturing fertile soil in which our Oak Tree may grow.
OAK TREE
Okaloosa STEM Academies
“Cultivating STEM growth”
Item / Total Cost / WIRED Request / Match Amount / Match SourceTotally Amazing Careers in Science Book Series / $17,856.00 / $4,224.00 / $8,928.00
$4,704.00 / Sally Ride Science
OCSD
Engineers for AmericaArmamentMuseum Program Kits / $6,000.00 / $2,365.00 / $1,000.00
$2,635.00 / EFA
OCSD
EFA 6th Grade Curriculum Development / $7,800.00 / $4,258.00 / $3,542.00 / OCSD
EFA Curriculum Printing / $1,000.00 / $200.00 / $500.00
$300.00 / Troy University
OCSD
EFA Teacher Trainer / $1,000.00 / $473.00 / $527.00 / OCSD
EFA Field Experience / $14,375.00 / $7,984.00 / $6,391.00 / OCSD
6th Grade Teacher Training Stipend / $15,000.00 / $7,096.00 / $7,904.00 / OCSD
Everyday Counts Algebra Readiness Curriculum / $8,100.00 / $2,560.00 / $2,688.00
$2,852.00 / Great Source
OCSD
Everyday Counts Algebra Readiness Teacher Stipends / $2,630.00 / $1,244.00 / $1,386.00 / OCSD
FIRST LEGO League competition registration and mats* / $5,440.00 / $1,154.00 / $3,000.00
$1,286.00 / FIRST
OCSD
7th Grade Teacher Training Stipend / $15,000.00 / $7,096.00 / $7,904.00 / OCSD
Substitute costs for Effective Questioning in Mathematics PD / $2,700.00 / $1,277.00 / $1,423.00 / OCSD
8th Grade Teacher Training Stipend / $15,000.00 / $7,096.00 / $7,904.00 / OCSD
8th Grade Field Experience / $15,000.00 / $7,096.00 / $7,904.00 / OCSD
LED Rechargeable Microscopes for Middle Schools / $28,800.00 / $13,625.00 / $15,175.00 / OCSD
Additional Lab equipment / $5,000.00 / $2,365.00 / $2,635.00 / OCSD
Go Solve / $82,500.00 / $18,924.00 / $10,500.00
$53,076.00 / Scholastic
OCSD
Teacher Substitute for Go Solve / $2,700.00 / $1,277.00 / $1,423.00 / OCSD
TI-NspireTM and Institute / $10,000.00 / $2,365.00 / $5,000.00
$2,635.00 / Texas Instruments
OCSD
TI Workshop Teacher Stipends / $10,125.00 / $4,790.00 / $5,335.00 / OCSD
Graphing Calculators / $15,000.00 / $7,096.00 / $7,904.00 / OCSD
Vernier Bio-DX Teacher Packs & Institute / $25,088.00 / $9,504.00 / $5,000.00
$10,584.00 / Vernier
OCSD
Teaching Stereo Microscopes with cameras and software / $18,000.00 / $8,516.00 / $9,484.00 / OCSD
Vernier Bio-ST Teacher Packs & Institute / $29,000.00 / $11,354.00 / $5,000.00
$12,646.00 / Vernier
OCSD
6th grade Summer Training and supplies / $15,000.00 / $3,548.00 / $7,500.00
$3,952.00 / Okaloosa Walton College (OWC)
OCSD
7th Grade Summer Training and Supplies / $15,000.00 / $3,548.00 / $7,500.00
$3,952.00 / OWC
OCSD
8th Grade Summer Training and Supplies / $15,000.00 / $3,548.00 / $7,500.00
$3,952.00 / OWC
OCSD
Biology Summer Training and Supplies / $10,000.00 / $2,365.00 / $5,000.00
$2,635.00 / University of West Florida (UWF)
OCSD
Chemistry Summer Training and Supplies / $10,000.00 / $2,365.00 / $5,000.00
$2,635.00 / UWF
OCSD
Physics Summer Training and Supplies / $10,000.00 / $2,365.00 / $5,000.00
$2,635.00 / UWF
OCSD
Billboard Advertising/Marketing / $500.00 / $500.00 / Lamar
School Newsletters / $5,400.00 / $5,400.00 / School Funds
Newspaper Math and Science Career Insert / $2,660.00 / $2,660.00 / NWF Daily News
Academy Sign / $4,350.00 / $1,646.00 / $870.00
$1,834.00 / A World of Signs
OCSD
High School Summer Teacher Training Stipend / $33,750.00 / $15,967.00 / $17,783.00 / OCSD
SummerBridge / $16,400.00 / $7,759.00 / $8,641.00 / OCSD
Behavioral Work Skills Consultation / $1,200.00 / $1,200.00 / Bay Area Psychological Consultants
Science Lab Retrofit / $75,000.00 / $75,000.00 / OCSD
Oak Tree Administration:
Director / $305,223.00 / $144,402.00 / $160,821.00 / OCSD
Specialist / $256,629.00 / $121,410.00 / $135,219.00 / OCSD
Project Secretary / $120,774.00 / $57,138.00 / $63,636.00 / OCSD
Totals / $1,250,000.00 / $500,000.00 / $750,000.00*
Note:
Okaloosa County School District will provide $660,254 of the $750,000 matching funds over a three year period. The remaining $89,746 matching funds are from vendors, school sources and other contributors.OAK TREE
Okaloosa STEM Academies