2008-2009 north carolina science, mathematics, and technology education center annual report

8/14/2019 2008-2009 North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center Annual Report

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northcarolinascience, mathematics , andtechnologyeducationcent


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c o n t e n t s

3 From the President4 Science Summit6 SMT Celebration8 Science Competitions

10 Collaborative Project11 Financial Statements12 Board of Directors

North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and

Technology Education Center (SMT Center)

was launched in 2002 to promote and support

innovation in science, mathematics, and technology

learning in the states elementary and secondary

schools. Were doing that by serving as a catalyst for

innovation and change in education; advocating for

research-based instructional programs in schools;

providing tools, learning methods, and technical help

to educators; and recruiting community and business

leaders to encourage and promote advanced scienceand mathematics learning at all ages.

Thanks to Zanetta Hardy for photo contributions.


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One of the SMT Centers guiding principles is

collaboration rather than duplication, and this past

year outstanding partnerships have continued tocontribute significantly to the success of our efforts.

In this report well look at some o our

partnerships, and some o the important

things weve learned during the past year.

North Carolinas economy continues to shit

rom its traditional manuacturing and

agricultural bases to reliance on knowledge-

based endeavors such as biotech andtelecommunications. Our state has attracted

a wealth o new businesses because we are able to provide a well-

educated, well-trained workorce. In order to maintain this talented

workorce, our students need to be well-versed in STEM (science,

technology, engineering, and mathematics) areas. A new state

initiative called the JOBS (Joining Our Businesses and Schools)

Commission will make recommendations to ensure that our schools

are creating career-ready and college-ready graduates. The SMT

Center will be playing an advisory role to Lieutenant Governor

Walter Dalton as he chairs this commissions work.

We are also joining orces with the N.C. STEM Community

Collaborative, a group working to align community assets with

workorce demands. We are especially pleased that the process

involves community discussions that will dene what it means to

be STEM-ready. We look orward to playing a signicant role in theeducation component o each communitys strategic plan.

We continue to work with the University o Washington and Dr.

John Bransord in his research to create a viable assessment tool.

We are pleased to have the N.C. State Board o Education, the N.C.

Department o Public Instruction, and Metametrics, Inc. as partners

in our work to develop new methods o measuring student peror-

mance. We look orward to urthering our work with the Education

Cabinet to build assessments that demonstrate that students can

use inormation in real world situations.

Our work this past year with the National Science Resources Center

in the LASER Initiative ocused on supporting the 31 districts that have

developed strategic plans or inquiry-based science. We also partnered

with Wilson County Schools and James Jones Elementary School to

develop a LASER demonstration site at the school. This will provide

us a working model o how inquiry-based science can best be taught.

In 2010, we will continue to seek partnerships that allow us to

leverage our strengths in education. This will enable us to ensurethat North Carolinas uture is on the right track.

Samuel H. Houston Jr., Ed.D.

f r o m t h e p r e s i d e n t


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4 w w w . n c s m t . o r g

In April, the SMT Center, The James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute or

Educational Leadership and Policy, and the International Center

or Leadership in Education held the second annual ScienceSummit in Cary, N.C.

During the Summit, a number o challenges acing science

education were considered. One o those challenges is being

addressed by the SMT Center through the work o John Bransord.

Dr. Bransord and his colleagues at the University o Washington

have been working on interactive assessment experiments to

better gauge how well students comprehend scientic material.

Attendees were given an opportunity to test the authentic learning

and assessment tool, which is designed or high school biology

students studying genetics.Using a rst-person interactive

platorm such as Second Lie,

students use their existing

knowledge to solve problems

and then revise their solutions,

i necessary, using outside

resources such as the Internet.

In this increasingly technologi-

cally driven world, students need these skills to work collaborativelyto assess and integrate inormation in their decision-making.

Another challenge addressed at the Summit addressed was the

need to invest in proessional development opportunities or

teachers. The SMT Center has been working to help meet that

challenge through the Collaborative Project (see page 10).

Perhaps the biggest challenge acing SMT education is the rate

at which technology is advancing. Change happening outside

o schools is occurring at a rate our to ve times aster than the

rate o change within schools, said keynote speaker Bill Daggett,

s c i e n c e s u m m i t

Change happening outside of

schools is occurring at a rate four

to five times faster than the rate

of change within schools.

Bill Daggett, President of ICLE


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president o the ICLE. This is our problem. He added that

implementing deep changes in education to keep pace with rapidly

evolving and converging orces o globalization, demography, andtechnology is not likely to come rom tinkering around the edges.

A handful of strategies presented at the Summit included:

partnering businesses and scientists with schools,

reducing ederally-mandated standards,

integrating science and math curriculum content,

planning inquiry-based learning methods,

looping teachers across several grades,

awarding credit or student internships outside o school,

using new tools to assess learning, dissecting components o schools that excel,

sustaining disruptive innovation,

and identiying actors that resist change.

By partnering with organizations that ocus on improving STEM

education in North Carolina, the SMT Center is helping school

administrators, teachers, and students provide answers to criticalquestions in the quest to urther education reorm.

Science does not know its debt to

imagination. Ralph Waldo Emerson


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The third annual SMT Celebration took place on April 18, 2009 at

the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cary, N.C. The Celebration shines a

spotlight on the achievements o many students, teachers, andorganizations active in SMT education. More than 400 people

were in attendance.

This was the second year that the SMT Center presented its

own awards to acknowledge the commitment and dedication o

individuals and organizations who are advancing the SMT Centers

mission.

s m t c e l e b r a t i o n

SAS, Inc.

Business and Industry Award in Science, Mathematics,

and Technology Education

North Carolina Mathematics and

Science Education Network (NC-MSEN)Partnership Award in Science, Mathematics, and

Technology Education

thisyearssmtcenterawardwinnersinclude:


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John and Nancy Bray

Champions of Science, Mathematics, and Technology

Education Award

Cindy Moss

Outstanding Administrator Award in Science, Mathematicsand Technology Education

Jennifer Telschow

Student Leadership Award in Science, Mathematics, and

Technology Education

Jose DArruda

Outstanding Educator Award in Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education


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In 2008 the SMT Center received support rom the N.C. General

Assembly to build statewide capacity or student science

competitions. This money has been strategically utilized to increaseopportunities or North Carolina students and teachers to engage

in science competitions throughout the state.

s c i e n c e c o m p e t i t i o n s


why supportsciencecompetitions?

SciencecompetitionsalignwiththeN.C.StandardCourseof

Study and support all areas o STEMscience, technology,engineering, and mathematics.

Teachersinvolvedinsciencecompetitionshaveopportunities

or proessional development related to improving science

instruction.

SciencecompetitionsraiseawarenessoftheneedforSTEM

education.


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highlightsofthepastyearinclude:

Charlotte-MecklenburgandCumberlandCountySchoolsdeveloped curriculum, trained teachers, and sponsored N.C.

Science Olympiad competitions. This pilot eort will be

replicated across the state.

AshevilleCityandBuncombe,Wilson,andMcDowellCounty

Schools provided Summer Science Olympiad Camps or rising

6th8th graders. The camps reached students who traditionally

would not have had a science camp experience.

Communicationsandpublicitysupportplanswereimplementedto raise awareness o the value o science competitions and

to celebrate student achievement. This generated a signicant

increase in awareness o the competitions or elementary

schools.

The camps reached students who

traditionally would not have had

a science camp experience.

Summer Science Olympiad Camps


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10 w w w . n c s m t . o r g

The Collaborative Project, a 21st Century Initiative o the North

Carolina General Assembly, is a three-year pilot project that is

administered by the Public School Forum o North Carolina andthe SMT Center. The Collaborative Project seeks to strengthen ve

public school systems serving low-income students in rural areas

o the state.

One ocus o The Collaborative Project has been on identiying and

administering high quality proessional development in math and

science instruction in order to improve the mathematics and science

perormance o students. This past year, 570 teachers in Caswell,

Greene, Mitchell, Warren, and Washington counties participated

in proessional development workshops. Districts also ran ater-school programs in place that provided academic support, along

with other activities that engaged students in the arts, experiential

learning and eld trips.

Results rom the past year indicate that real, measurable progress

is being made. In 2008-2009, 19 o 24 schools in the districts met

AYP (adequate yearly progress), compared to just seven o 24 in

2007-2008.

The Collaborative Project is scheduled to continue through the

2010-2011 school year and we look orward to working with

these districts to urther strengthen math and science instruction.Elementary and middle school students who have a solid ounda-

tion in STEM will hopeully pursue and be successul in rigorous

STEM courses in high school.

c o l l a b o r a t i v e p r o j e c t


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Statement of Financial Position

Year Ended June 30, 2009

Assets

Cash $ 143,871

Grants receivable, net $ 34,014

Property and equipment, net $ 766

Prepaid expenses $ 9,320

Total assets $ 187,971

Liabilities and Net Assets

Accounts payable and accrued expenses 33,403

Advances on costs subject to reimbursement $ 71,593Total liabilities $ 104,996

Unrestricted net assets $ 82,975

Total liabilities and net assets $ 187,971

f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t s

Statement of Activities

Year Ended June 30, 2009Changes in unrestricted net assets

Revenues

Grants $ 283,914

Contributions $ 679,952

Interest $ 134

Total unrestricted revenues $ 964,000

Expenses

Program services $ 182,443

General and administrative $ 3,279,880Total expenses $ 3,462,323

Changes in net assets $ (2,498,323)

Net assets at beginning o year $ 2,581,298

Net assets at end of year $ 82,975

The North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center is supported primarily by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. That support includes $502,919 o expenseson behal o the SMT Center during the scal year ended June 30, 2009. These expenses were related to salaries, travel, entertainment, maintenance, supplies, proessional ees,

printing costs, and other miscellaneous items. The Center has refected contribution revenues and general and administrative expenses or these amounts.

At June 30, 2008, the SMT Center had a related party receivable rom BWF o $2,500,000. The aorementioned receivable was expected to be collected upon completion o the

SMT Centers tax status change. The SMT Center has decided to orgo a change in its tax status and release BWF rom its contribution pledge. Accordingly, the SMT Center recorded

a ull valuation allowance against the contribution receivable as o June 30, 2009.


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t 919.991.5111 f 919.991.0695 www.ncsmt.org P.O. Box 13901 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3901

Todd Boyette, Ph.D.DirectorMorehead Planetarium & Science Center

John Burris, Ph.D.PresidentBurroughs Wellcome Fund

J.B. BuxtonEducation ConsultantThe Education Innovations Group

Joseph CrockerAssistant Secretary orCommunity DevelopmentNC Department o Commerce

Mary CullinaneAcademic Program ManagerU.S. Partners in LearningMicrosot

Elaine Franklin, Ph.D.DirectorCenter or Mathematics and Science EducationWestern Carolina University

Rebecca Garland, Ed.D.Chie Academic Ocer/Associate State Superintendent

NC Department o Public Instruction

Sam Houston, Ed.D.President and CEONorth Carolina Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education Center

Kate HovisSenior Vice PresidentBB&T

Emma JacksonExecutive Director o Instructional Services/Title l

New Hanover County Schools

Susan JacksonExecutive DirectorWakeMed Physician Practices

Caroline McCullenDirector, Education InitiativesSAS

Fran Nolan, Ed.D.Executive DirectorGrassroots Science Museums Collaborative

Sidney Rachlin, Ed.D.Proessor o Mathematics EducationEast Carolina University

Michael SchmedlenDirectorWorld Wide EducationLenovo

Sharon Schulze, Ph.D.DirectorThe Science House

Elic SenterEducation ConsultantNorth Carolina Association o Educators

Ira Trollinger, Ph.D.SuperintendentMcDowell County Schools

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2008-2009 north carolina science, mathematics, and technology education center annual report

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