Education : Innovation + Job News

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has committed $300,000 to support a new active-learning initiative at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) that draws on the latest technology and education research to help students succeed in critical introductory mathematics and science classes.

Creating an environment that engages and supports students as they begin studying these subjects is part of UMBC's College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) Active Science Teaching and Learning Environment (CASTLE) effort to increase the number of students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). More graduates are needed in these areas to help the U.S. maintain economic strength and an innovative edge.

"In this age of increasing global competition, it is essential that we support the students who will move our country forward in science and technology," says Larry Cox, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. "This commitment to UMBC is an investment in both the number and quality of future scientists and engineers who will be available to work at companies like SAIC."

This collaboration builds on UMBC and SAIC's existing relationship, including SAIC's participation on UMBC advisory boards and the 2010-11 Visionaries in Information Technology Forum. UMBC students are active participants in SAIC's summer internship program.

"We are delighted to collaborate with SAIC to explore innovative ways to help our students excel in introductory math and science courses," says UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski. "As a leader in technology, SAIC is demonstrating a commitment to preparing more students for careers in these critical fields."

Source: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Writer: Walaika Haskins

It's time we started giving credit where its due in the Baltimore area.

That's the thought behind the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore's (EAGB) new "Pride of Baltimore" campaign that will honor five area leaders as "rock stars who make things happen in Greater Baltimore."

The campaign, announced at the organization's 2011 Annual Meeting, will highlight people from industry, education, community leaders, government, and other sectors who help make Baltimore City great and an area that can outperform competing markets economically. It will include profiles of area leaders in ads, marketing materials, and web content.

"Our role is to promote this region as a place in which to grow a business, invest, and bring jobs. We found the best way to do that is to get the people behind our positive testimonials to tell their stories and give it more of a community feel. If we can connect those leaders, together we can better address opportunities that come along," says Thomas Sadowski, EAGB president and CEO.

The initial five "rock stars" recognized by the EAGB are: Maryland State School Superintendent Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick; former Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith; Thomas Wilcox, President and CEO of the Baltimore Community Foundation; Brian Rogers and the T. Rowe Price Leadership Team; and Juxtopia Founder Jayfus Doswell. According to Sadowski, featured leaders are either nominated or are people the organization considers standouts.

"We're working on a new list of honorees that will come out in the next week or so. Obviously they're certain people who stand out, and we began with the list that we did because they're obvious or should be obvious to most. T. Rowe Price and their contribution to the business community. Nancy Grasmick and everything she's done for education with us being No. 1 in public education, that's significant. BCF is doing great things in the community not just from a social perspective, but what they're doing in the tech community to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. We'd heard Jayfus Doswell's story a couple of times now and felt like it was a good one. Here's a guy who's doing great things in business and to give back to the community. They're a lot of people like Jayfus who're doing great things for our community and we want to tell their story," Sadowski says.

The idea to celebrate the region's heroes came from a trip to Austin, Texas where Sadowski says they've invested a lot in highlighting these members of their community. "A lot of them were grown out of Dell and some of the other companies that have launched there. These firms have made great strides and are now giving back to the community. They're readily known in the business community and are serving as mentors. We have a lot of that going on in Baltimore, but we're a bigger market and a little bit more diverse given the federal government agencies in the area. We thought it was a great idea and figured let's do what we can to start introducing these champion leaders to one another," Sadowski says.

Source: Thomas Sadowski, Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Based on input from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teachers across Maryland and initial funding from AT&T, the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT) announced plans last week to build the STEMnet Teachers Hub. The network will be a one-stop-shop for STEM teachers to find the resources, support, and professional connections they need to strengthen STEM teaching and learning statewide.

Phase One of the online tool, a joint project with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), will launch during the 2010-11 school year. The STEMnet Teachers Hub will feature three components identified by teachers as "most needed and favored," including a Resource Clearinghouse through which teachers will have online access to STEM curriculum, lesson plans, webinars, tutorials, classroom-ready experiments, and professional development; a System-Wide STEM Connections portal that will enable teachers to link with STEM educators across Maryland at all levels and with private-sector STEM professionals to share knowledge and resources; and the Specialists in the Classroom compenent that will offer teachers a roster of STEM practitioners from federal agencies, industry, and higher education who are available to visit their classrooms, augment curriculum-based learning, and inform and inspire students about real-world STEM work.

"Strengthening Maryland's STEM advantage means giving teachers all of the support they need to provide students with strong STEM knowledge and skills," says MBRT Executive Director June Streckfus. "It's a place where teachers can make connections and access resources. We think that as a result of that innovation will really flourish."

Plans for the network included in the state's "Race to the Top" application for federal education funding, received high marks, says Strecfus. A major contribution from AT&T as well as support from Citi, Northrop Grumman, IBM, and MSDE have made the creation of the network possible.

According to Streckfus, the concept for STEMnet originated with Gov. Martin O'Malley's STEM Task Force. In 2009, the Task Force offered seven recommendations for securing Maryland's future as a global leader in STEM-based education, research, and economic development. The final recommendation was to "create Maryland's STEM Innovation Network to make STEM resources available to all."

As a first step in making that network a reality, MBRT made creating a support hub for teachers its first priority. MBRT conducted focus groups and an online survey in spring 2010 to gain detailed input from STEM teachers throughout the state.

Based on the results of that market research, MBRT identified and then ranked 11 proposed initiatives to reflect the explicitly stated needs of Maryland STEM teachers. Phase One of STEMnet includes implementation of the three initiatives teachers identified as most important. "These initiatives represent the core imperative driving the first stage of Maryland's statewide STEM Innovation Network, the STEMnet Teachers Hub," says Streckfus.

Additional initiatives recommended by STEM teachers will be phased in over the next few years with support from stakeholders throughout Maryland whose shared interest in advancing STEM teaching and achievement will transform the state's ability to compete successfully on the international stage.

"We're starting with teachers, but it will support students and parents. Eventually, [one idea] is for it to support research in STEM across the state and to encourage people to enter that field. So we're looking at a major electronic system that will really promote STEM education in Maryland," she says.

Source: June Streckfus, MBRT
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has negotiated an agreement with Google that makes Google Apps for Education available to the 189 K-12 and higher educational institutions in Maryland that are members of The Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC). Google Apps, which is free for educational institutions, currently provides email, documents, group pages, chat and other products to over eight million students.

UMBC served as the lead institution working with MEEC to broker the deal with Google, and will be the first campus in the University System of Maryland to implement the Google suite of products under the new contract. The University worked with MEEC, the Maryland Attorney General's Office and Google to develop a contract that can be used by any MEEC member.

UMBC's decision to migrate to Google came after engaging in conversations with students, faculty and staff.

"We began this early last fall. We brought technical expertise to the table, so that as the legal team had questions about the language of the contract we would provide our input. We provided context for the Attorney General's Office," says Mike Carlin, UMBC assistant vice president of IT.

"As we discussed options for outsourcing email with students, they overwhelmingly recommended Google because it works exceptionally well with their mobile lifestyle," he continues. "UMBC will immediately set up the 3,000 new students enrolling for classes this fall on Google email and will provide the 10,000 existing students with the option to convert their accounts over to Google in late August 2010. By the start of the spring 2011 semester, we anticipate having all students moved over to Google."

UMBC also licensed Google Message Security, a secure, hosted service that provides enterprise-grade spam and virus protection and email content filtering, under the contract for use with the University's existing email infrastructure for faculty and staff this fall.

MEEC members are under no obligation to switch to the Google Suite, Carlin explains. "They are free to continue using their current applications or migrate to Google.

Source: Mike Carlin, Univeristy of Maryland Baltimore County
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Enoch Pratt Free Library has received a $15,000 award from Citi that will fund free outreach activities for its Summer Reading 2010 programs.

Summer Reading is an incentive and theme-based reading program offered at all Pratt locations throughout Baltimore. Every year, more than 15,000 children and teens register for the reading program and more than 35,000 participate in the free activities. The goal for registered participants is to read at least one book a week during the eight week session. Through branch-based activities and performances, such as musicians and storytellers, the program is designed to help children build a love for reading, promote family reading and help students continue to learn over the summer.

"Studies have shown that children who read over the summer are better prepared to continue their education when they return to school in the fall," says Carla D. Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. "But it's important to emphasize that reading is fun. Sometimes students get so busy they forget that there's more to reading than just school texts."

An important component of Summer Reading is outreach Every year, the library extends its Summer Reading program to 65-70 non-library-branch outreach sites (day camps, recreation centers, faith-based camps, school and day care centers), to ensure that these children have the same opportunities for reading practice as those who attend Library branch programs.

"Our summer learning outreach efforts are our single most effective way to reach children that don't have access to libraries during the summer," says Ellen Riordan, Pratt's Children Services Coordinator. "This generous funding ensures that over 4,000 children in 70 sites across the city have books, a library connection and a positive learning experience."

"The impact of Pratt's Summer Reading program on the local community is immeasurable," says Sheldon Caplis, Citi Community Development Regional Director for South Atlantic. "The contribution to strengthening education and communities across Baltimore makes Pratt an obvious partner for us."

Source: Enoch Pratt Free Library
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF), an umbrella organzation for a range of Baltimore-based non-profit groups, handed out $112,500 in scholarship awards to 67 Maryland students. The awards ranging in amount from $500 to $10,000 were awarded to graduating members of the Class of 2010 as well as former recipients currently attending college.

"A well-educated workforce is crucial to our goal of a Baltimore with a growing economy where all have the opportunity to thrive, and BCF is proud to support this vision by helping young people realize their dreams of attending college. Today we celebrate BCF's scholarship recipients, as well as the generous donors who helped make it all possible," says Tom Wilcox, BCF president.

Hilary Bowman, a graduating senior at Digital Harbor High School, recieved the $10,000 One Step Up Scholarship. The scholarship, established by Jonnie-Kay McLean and her husband Norman Morrison, was created to enable young women who have overcome significant challenges and displayed leadership qualities to go to college.

"I've been in education for 40 years and when I went to school, I was the only girl in my high school to go. I had no money at all, no way of getting money and had to work every single minute of the day. That made it really hard. So when I retired, we decided we wanted to do something for young women in Baltimore. We specifically wanted to do something for students who had to work [in high school or take on other roles] to help support their family," McLean explains.

The couple wasn't looking for the valedictorians, but students who were "solid citizens with real moral values who had done an awful lot in terms of leadership within their family, church, school or community. And someone we thought that with this chance would have a significant impact on their families, themselves and their community."

Bowman, ranked fourth in her class, was selected because of her dedication to her family and her studies. "She has helped her family pay bills, is one of the most active students in her school and has been involved in mentoring the younger children in her community. She has taken care of the community's 4- and 5-year olds through athletics and the community parks and recs program there, even though she has to work nearly full-time for her family," McLean says.

 Bowman, who will attend Maryland's Loyola University this Fall, will receive $10,000 for her first year in college; $5,000 for the second year and $3,000 for the third year. She plans to major in business marketing.

"I want to go into business marketing and create a non-profit company that will cater to young people, helping them to get out of the bad situations around them," says Bowman.

Here's a complete list of the scholarships awarded.

Sources: Jonnie-Kay McLean, Hillary Bowman
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Pride of Baltimore, Inc. (PoB), the nonprofit organization that manages Baltimore's famed tall ship, Pride of Baltimore II, named Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick, state superintendent of schools and Dr. Andres Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools as the 2010 PRIDE Persons of the Year.

The two educators were chosen as part of the PoB's decision to reprioritize and focus on education, "In light of the upcoming War of 1812 bicentennial in a few years, and we have entered into a partnership with the Maritime Industries Academy High School to work on enhancing their STEM -- science, technoloy, engineering and math -- curriculum. We have also recently begun a partnership with the Johns Hopkins School of Education to help us with that. We're going to have 'Teach the Teachers' and 'Train the Trainers' programs onboard Pride II for STEM programs," says Linda Christenson, executive director of PoB.

The goal is to increase learning opportunities for area students, she adds. One local aspect, is the PoB's partnership with the Port of Baltimore through which the two entities will work to increase awareness among Baltimore City students, including those at the Maritime Academy, about career opportunities at the Port.

"A more far-reaching [facet] is to use the ship in terms of windspeed and currents to enhance the curriculum and make it more fun frankly for students to learn science, technology, engineering and math. And these programs won't just be limited to Maryland. We will use these at all ports of call as the ship sails internationally," says Christenson.

Dr. Grasmick and Dr. Alonso were selected as a result of their unwavering commitment to educating Maryland's future leaders. As the State Superintendent since 1991, the organization cited Dr. Grasmick's strong focus on student achievement, teacher quality, parent involvement and early childhood education. Under her leadership, Maryland is nationally recognized for its many educational achievements. For the second straight year, Education Week's 2010 Quality Counts report ranked Maryland's public school system as first in the nation, showing that Maryland consistently placed at the top of its class in the report's six determining categories, receiving the nation's only B+ average, according to the non-profit. 

It is Dr. Alonso long career that has been defined by his fervent commitment to students and their families. During his tenure as CEO, Dr. Alonso has reshaped the organization of Baltimore City's Public School System, empowering principals and revolutionizing the way education in the city is funded. Dr. Alonso's achievements have been recognized throughout the community. In 2009, he was named as only the third recipient of the "Howard Pete Rawlings Courage in Public Service" Award by the Greater Baltimore Committee, and also was appointed to the prestigious No Child Left Behind Committee for the Aspen Institute, a bipartisan effort to improve federal education policy to spur academic progress and close the achievement gap.

"I'm always slightly surprised by these awards. Superintendent is a tough job and you're always getting thrown to the wolves. It's surprising to get moments of appreciation. I work unbelievably hard and I think people know it. It helps alot to know that people feel like I've done some good for the city. I'm honest about what needs to be done, and I think that's why the work I'm doing is appreciated. It's never about the work I've done, but the work that needs to be done. I try very hard to give credit to the work our teachers and administrators are doing and the need for parents to be a part of what we do. There are huge challenges, but there's no reason we should not be trying to overcome those challenges," says Dr. Alonso.

Source: Linda Christenson, Pride of Baltimore, Inc.; Dr. Andres Alonso, Baltimore City Public Schools
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Votes have are in and once again, Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) have come out on top, winning its second award from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The school system has been declared the winner of the Most Vegetarian-Friendly Cafeteria contest sponsored by peta2, the world's largest youth animal rights organization. BCPS beat out four other school districts to take the award in the  U.S. Public Schools category. The district will receive a framed certificate and a thank-you card signed by peta2 staffers.

According to peta2, BCPS is the only district among the five nominees that takes part in Meatless Mondays, an animal- and Earth-friendly program offering students an array of healthy and delicious vegan and vegetarian foods. Some popular dishes available in BCPS cafeterias include spicy vegetarian chili, meatless lasagne, and Tex-Mex style black-bean nachos. In another of the school system's innovative program, local farmers and food distributors partner with the district to provide fresh, locally raised fruits and vegetables to students.

"Baltimore City Public Schools stands as a role model for school districts across the country when it comes to educating students about how their food choices affect not only their own health but also the world around them," says peta2 director Dan Shannon. "More and more young people are learning that the best thing that they can do for animals, the planet, and themselves is to go vegan."

BCPS beat out Georgia's Gwinnett County Public Schools, Virginia's Prince William County Schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the Berkeley Unified School District. Awards were also given in the categories of U.S. Private Schools and Canadian Schools. In October 2009, PETA awarded the school system its Proggy Award for Most Progressive Public School District of 2009.


Source: Rachel Owen, peta2
Writer: Walaika Haskins