 | | Featured Article | | Community School South won the Nickelodeon Teen Nick Halo Award for their student-produced video. |
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Innovator Grants Help Math and Science
Programs Soar
Seven innovative math and science programs from throughout San Mateo County were recently selected to receive grants of up to $5,000 from the San Mateo County Innovation Fund.
 | | Redwood Shores elementary school teacher and award-winner Kevin Mullins(l.) chats with parent Andrew Young at the Math and Science Innovator Awards dinner. |
With the help of these grants, fourth through sixth-grade students will have access to stimulating curriculum and materials designed to inspire curiosity and engagement with math and science.
At Redwood Shores Elementary School, for example, fourth and fifth-graders will learn what makes airplanes fly. They'll have airplane pilots as mentors and take a field trip to a control tower to learn about flight paths. At San Mateo Park Elementary School, fifth-graders will study space, build rockets and visit NASA, and the Chabot Space and Science Museum. Other San Mateo County elementary schools will gain graphing calculators, interactive math and science games, FOSS science kits, resources for parent education nights and more.
This is the fifth year for the San Mateo County Math and Science Teacher Innovator awards and the first year that a special event was held to honor the grant recipients. On January 18, teachers, principals, County Supervisors and representatives from San Mateo County and the Workforce Development Board gathered at the Foster City Recreation Center to share their innovative projects and celebrate together.
Learn more about the grant recipients and the Innovator Awards here. |
Hollywood Just a Step Away for Community School South
Community School South (CSS) in East Palo Alto is now just one step away from Hollywood. In December, the students in Sally Ploe's class, using flip-video cameras and working with Boys and Girls Club manager Cheri Kabba, produced a one-minute public service video and submitted it to Nickelodeon's 2010 Teen Nick Halo Awards competition.
The students received a $10,000 prize (which will be used to fund additional technology projects at the Boys and Girls Club) and won first place for most viewed video on the Teen Nick website. The award-winning video will be shown at the March 16 San Mateo County Office of Education Board of Education meeting at 7 p.m., and several of the students involved in the project, as well as Ploe and Kabba will be present to talk about their experience.
Learn more about the film and Community School South here.
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Fifth Annual Zap the Gap Conference
Next Week at SMCOE
Closing the Achievement Gap will be the focus of the fifth annual Zap the Gap Conference on February 28 at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE). A sell-out crowd of 130 local administrators, teachers, school board trustees and County Office staff will hear from noted experts on this timely topic, and in break-out sessions they'll have the opportunity to share what works to close the Achievement Gap.
Pedro Noguera, the featured morning keynote speaker is a noted CNN commentator, sociology professor, and author of numerous books on the subject including Unfinished Business: Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in Our Schools. David Foster, executive with the Silicon Valley Math Initiative, is the afternoon general session speaker. His presentation is entitled "Question: How to Reach All Students? Answer: Teach for Understanding."
Albert R. Gonzalez, Jr. will be the speaker at lunch. He will talk about equitable instruction with a focus on culturally responsive instruction. Milton Reynolds, Program Associate at Facing History and Ourselves, will speak on the topic, "The Power of Untaught History: Re-examining the Achievement Gap."
"We have a great mix of school teams, principals and district administrators attending," notes Lori Musso, Curriculum Services Administrator at SMCOE. "The response has been tremendous." |
"Race to Nowhere" Examines Pressure-Cooker Schools
As part of an ongoing professional development series, SMCOE managers recently viewed and discussed "Race to Nowhere," the highly acclaimed film that's got everybody talking about the high-stakes, high-pressure culture experienced by many students today.  The film will be screened at several evening events at public schools throughout San Mateo County in March.
"Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture" features stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren't developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what's best for their kids.
In addition to the stories of the students, featured in the film are noted education, medical and psychological experts: Dr. Madeline Levine, clinical psychologist and author of the best-seller, The Price of Privilege; Dr. Wendy Mogel, clinical psychologist and author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee; Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, adolescent medicine specialist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Deborah Stipek, dean of the School of Education at Stanford University; Dr. Denise Pope, co-founder, Challenge Success, Stanford University; and Sara Bennett, founder, Stop Homework.
The film will be shown on March 14 at 7 p.m. at Brittan Acres School in San Carlos, on March 16 at 7 p.m. at the Bayside Performing Arts Center in San Mateo, and on March 30 at 7 p.m. at West Elementary School in Hillsborough. The screenings in Hillsborough and in San Carlos, sponsored by school and parent groups, are free. Tickets for the screening in San Mateo, sponsored by the Burlingame Mothers' Club, are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Ticket information can be found at www.RaceToNowhere.com.
Learn more about the film, reactions to it, and additional screenings here.
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About the San Mateo County Office of Education
The San Mateo County Office of Education provides a variety of instructional, business and consulting services to the County's twenty-three public school districts, charter schools, the Community College District, and County Office of Education staff.
Believe In Tomorrow: Think Green Today
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