Students and parents celebrate science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics partnership
 |
| One of the event’s
co-hosts, Delegate Adrienne Jones, speaks
to the crowd. |
On STEM Family Fun Night and Parent Summit,
down one hallway of Dogwood Elementary School,
students launched paper rockets. In the cafeteria,
students crawled into an inflatable planetarium
to learn more about the stars. At stations throughout
the first floor, students challenged themselves
with activities that tested their knowledge
of fractions, geometry, and other subjects.
At still other stations, students designed and
"built" their own insects, studied the life
stages of mosquitoes, and worked with whiteboard
technology.
Meanwhile, the parents of these students -
from Dogwood, Featherbed Lane, Hebbville, and
Milbrook elementary schools - gathered in the
gymnasium at this November 17 event to learn
more about the Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (STEM) program at their children's
schools.
 |
| To learn about density,
students constructed aluminum foil boats
and added as many pennies as possible until
the boat sank. |
Funded by the National Science Foundation,
STEM unites Baltimore County Public Schools
(BCPS) and University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC) in supporting enhanced teaching
and learning through intensive teacher recruitment,
professional development, and teacher education.
The revised STEM project started in January
2005 and will continue through December 2008.
It is based on a BCPS partnership with UMBC
that began in 2002. The $13 million project
involves seven schools including Woodlawn High
School and the four elementary schools (Dogwood,
Hebbville, Featherbed Lane, and Milbrook) and
two middle schools (Southwest Academy and Woodlawn)
that feed into Woodlawn High.
 |
| The hallway at Dogwood
was lined with activity stations and full
of students eager to participate. |
During the event, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, president
of UMBC and the co-author of Beating the
Odds: Raising Academically Successful African
American Males and Overcoming the Odds:
Raising Academically Successful African American
Young Women. spoke to parents about the
opportunities STEM offers students and the many
ways that parents can support their children's
academic success.
The event was hosted by Baltimore County Public
Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston, Delegate
Adrienne Jones, and Dr. Hrabowski. As all three
took their turns at the microphone, each praised
the large and enthusiastic turnout of more than
300 parents and students, and each emphasized
the important role parents play in the educational
process.
 |
| Keynote speaker and
event co-host Dr. Freeman Hrabowski offers
ideas on ways to support student success.
BCPS Superintendent and event co-host Dr.
Joe A. Hairston sits in the center of the
front row. |
STEM Project Director Kimberly Grabarek said,
"Planners of this event were hoping that parents
would be able to observe some of the types of
the math, science, and technology activities
being offered to their children.We wanted to
reinforce to parents the importance of being
involved in their children's education and that
we are really interested in partnering with
the parents, working together for the best for
the students."
In addition to activities for students and
a program for parents, the evening featured
door prizes, light refreshments, and a visit
from the Parentmobile (a traveling resource
center for BCPS parents). Free shuttle transportation
was provided from Featherbed Lane, Hebbville,
and Milbrook elementary schools to Dogwood Elementary
School.
 |
| As an aerodynamics activity,
students used foam cups and straws to construct
and fly airplanes. |
For Grabarek, one particular moment sums up
the success of the evening and the success of
the project. At the end of the night, one mother,
obviously inspired by the evening's keynote
speaker, stopped to talk to school staff about
mathematics and science instruction. Meanwhile,
her son was busy creating a paper rocket. After
a short while, he turned to her, and said, "Less
talking and more working."
"That's exactly what we hoped to achieve,"
Grabarek noted. "Students and their parents
and guardians excited about science, technology,
engineering, and math."
 |
| Students prepare to
enter Starlab, the BCPS portable planetarium. |
