Gateways East Bay STEM Network Newsletter
August 2013
Issue 12


East Bay STEM Network News

Gateways and Alameda County Office of Education begin Year 2 of Power of Discovery Project  

 

After successfully recruiting over 125 after-school programs to participate in the Power of Discovery: STEM 2, Alameda County Office of Education and Gateways East Bay STEM submitted a work plan and received funding to begin the second year of the project. All of the programs completed Readiness and Needs Assessments and are at work on a Program Plan to add STEM activities and improve the overall quality of their program. Shortly after the beginning of the new school year, efforts will begin to connect the participating sites through regional Community of Practice meetings. These meetings will give participants an opportunity to develop supportive relationships with their peers from other programs and share their success and challenges as they build more STEM learning into their programs.

If you'd like to learn more about the Power of Discovery, please visit: http://powerofdiscovery.org/

 

 

New Effort to support Transition of regional Project Lead the Way High School Students to CSU East Bay Engineering  

 

Gateways is working with three members of the CSU East Bay Engineering Faculty, Farzad Shahbodaghlou, Saeid Motavalli, and Cristian Gaedicke, and representatives from the East Bay Leadership Council, April Treece and Tiffany E. Grant, to develop a three part approach to support the transition of high school students who have participated in Project Lead the Way, a nationally recognized engineering program, into a college level engineering pathway. The partners are designing an online course for the high school students to excite them about continuing their engineering studies and teach them about the steps they need to take to enroll in two- or four-year post-secondary programs. They are developing a summer camp program to begin in 2014 engaging students in problem-based hands-on approaches to engineering. Finally, the partners are developing an "Ambassador Program," to send CSU East Bay engineering students into Project Lead the Way classrooms to work with the high school students and act as role models to help them understand how to make the transition to post-secondary engineering programs.

 

California STEM Weekly

Working in collaboration with STEM Connector, the California STEM Learning Network is now producing the California STEM Weekly.  This weekly e-mail newsletter can keep you informed about News, Events, Jobs, Education, Policy, and more from across the Golden State.

Registration is easy.

Click here

 

CA State Board of Education Defers Decision About Next Generation Science Standards

 

On July 10, 2013 the State Board of Education was presented with the proposed Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade 12 . The presentation led by Phil Lafontaine, director of the Professional Learning and Support Division of the California Department of Education, provided the board with a quick review of how the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were developed (this topic has been presented to them on several other occasions, so a quick rundown is all that was needed). This review was followed by an explanation of the process used by the Science Expert Panel (SEP) to develop the proposed recommendation. Jannelle Kubinec of WestEd addressed the management of the public input period and the results from those sessions. Kathy DiRanna, director of the K-12 Alliance walked the board through the process used by the SEP to arrive at the middle school standards arrangement. Finally, Dr. Helen Quinn was on hand and provided the board information on the science and scientific reasoning behind the middle school arrangement. It was announced by Phil Lafontaine that Achieve had reviewed the proposed California model for middle school and had come to the conclusion to endorse the California model as well as request permission to share that model on their website.

 

Over 20 individuals addressed the board during the public comment period. Several businesses and business organizations testified in support, including Chevron, Boeing, and the Bay Area Council, recognizing that NGSS will provide a science education needed to fulfill their workforce needs. Other education organizations speaking in support of the standards included CSTA, California Science Project, California STEM Learning Network, Children Now, California Teachers Association, California Charter School Association, The Education Trust - West, and UC Davis School of Education (among others). The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) stated that their membership was supportive of the Next Generation Science Standards, but wanted more time to evaluate the middle school arrangement as proposed. Classroom teachers Melissa Smith (middle school) and John Galisky (high school) also spoke in support of the proposed standards. By and large, all educators and education organizations making comments to the board emphasized how critical it will be for the implementation of these new standards to follow a carefully laid out plan that includes the proper sequencing of standards, curriculum framework, instructional materials, and assessment, as well as the crucial piece of proper and sufficient professional development and support for inservice teachers, especially for elementary and middle school teachers, and proper education for preservice teachers.

In the end, the board deferred additional action on the matter until the September 4-5 board meeting. This decision was made to allow for time for information to be shared with teachers and the public about the proposed standards and more time to gather responses from those groups.

 

To contact the State Board of Education members or staff to express your opinion abut the adoption of NGSS, please send an email to [email protected]. Alternatively, you may also telephone the SBE at 916-319-0827 or send a facsimile to 916-319-0175.

 

New State Policy Framework for Pathways to College and Career Readiness

Achieve has released a new state policy framework, Advancing Competency-Based Pathways to College and Career Readiness, to guide state education policymakers in envisioning and planning for policies that encourage student-centered approaches designed to help all students learn the full scope of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). 

 

The framework focuses on helping states reach a definition of competency at a level of rigor that equates with college and career readiness, which requires them to address three major policy areas - graduation requirements, assessment and accountability. Within each of these areas, it clarifies the unique purpose each has in a competency-based learning environment, identifies key policy questions and suggests potential options and policy levers for states. It also lays out several approaches that states can take to envision what competency-based pathways (CBP) will look like within their states and how it will take hold across schools and districts.


The framework suggests several characteristics of CBP that can help all students reach the CCSS:

  • Students advance upon demonstrated mastery.
  • Competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that empower students.
  • Assessment is meaningful and a positive learning experience for students.
  • Students receive rapid, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs.
  • Learning outcomes emphasize competencies that include the application and creation of knowledge.
  • The process of reaching learning outcomes encourages students to develop skills and dispositions important for success in college, careers and citizenship.
The report can be accessed here.

Network participants are encouraged to submit any STEM related news that they would like to share in future editions to [email protected]. Bruce can also be contacted to unsubscribe.
In This Issue

East Bay STEM Network News

 

 California STEM Weekly   

 

CA State Board of Education Defers Decision About Next Generation Science Standards

 

New State Policy Framework for Pathways to College and Career Readiness


Gateways East Bay STEM Network
Co-Chairs
Leroy M. Morishita
President
CSU East Bay

Alexander Zwissler
Executive Director/CEO
Chabot Space and Science Center

Stephanie Couch
Director
Gateways East Bay STEM Network
and
Institute for STEM Education

Bruce Simon
Associate Director
Gateways East Bay STEM Network
CSU East Bay

Action Group Facilitators

Erin Freschi
Early STEM Learning

Jackie Shonerd
STEM in Out-of-School Time

Hilary Haugen Dito
STEM Professional Learning

Pam Comfort
and
April Treece
College and Career Pathways
Quick Links
East Bay STEM Network
Our Sponsors
Chevron

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

San Francisco Foundation