NSFGRANT2004
Grant Team:
That "ringing" in your ears folks is the call for Hyper-speed! Aye, Aye, Captain.....fullspeed ahead!
Best,
Jim
Grant Team:
American Leadership Institute
americanleadershipinstitute.com
blogger
Craig Lamiman
http://www.americanleadershipinstitute.com/lamiman.htm
blogger
Learning Institute or Leadership Institute?
Best,
Jim
Grant Team:
Cross-blog: OSMTech Futures
[ Fri Mar 26, 02:20:02 PM | Beth Nuccio | edit ]
Spoke with Craig Lamiman from American Learning Institute and will meet with him on Wednesday, March 31 at 1:30 p.m. at the NWVoc. I have invited Ed Stanulis and Chuck Locklear and notified Sherry Kuchon. Since I am not sure who we will be dealing with at OS.
American Learning Institute is an e-learning organization that is branching into the homeschool and k-12 market. They are looking for brick and mortar partners. We'll see what they say.
BN
Grant Team:
Technology-based school faces closing
Web-posted Mar 25, 2004
By DAVE GROVES and SVEN GUSTAFSON
Of The Daily Oakland Press
Unless the widely popular Oakland Science, Math and Technology Academy can find more students or grant funding to support programs, it will close next year.
The Oakland Schools Board of Education has voted to no longer subsidize the academically-based technology program for high school students in northern Oakland County.
"What we're talking about is having it be self-sufficient," said Board Secretary Pan Godchaux.
"If they're able to come up with 120 students or get some of the grant funding they're seeking, we won't pull the plug on it."
Finding students to add to the current enrollment of 105 presents a formidable challenge, however.
Welcoming students from the Lake Orion, Holly, Brandon and Clarkston school districts, OSMTech receives half of the state funding the districts receive for each student.
Facing considerable budget challenges of their own, Lake Orion and Clarkston school officials have begun bowing out of the consortium. These districts will allow current OSMTech students to complete their high school educations there, but are not sending new students.
Holly schools Superintendent R. Kent Barnes said he, too, has recommended to the school board that it stop sending new pupils to the program while allowing those currently enrolled to finish.
Barnes said the district spends roughly $80,000 per year to send about 25 students to OSMTech - enough to hire a teacher to work with 150 kids in Holly, where the district intends to develop more technologically-based curriculum.
Regis Jacobs, assistant superintendent of career-focused education and regional services for Oakland Schools, said that the funding the center would have received with new students is critical to maintaining services.
"You have to have so many teachers to provide the breadth of curriculum we offer at OSMTech," he said. "We've already pretty much stripped away all of our indirect costs."
Despite administrators' attempts to explain the budgetary considerations OSMTech is facing, parents of students in the program were less than pleased with the board's decision forcing the school to become self-sufficient.
Beth Nuccio, president of the Brandon Board of Education and parent of two OSMTech students, said parents had proposed a restructuring plan that seemed to please intermediate district officials. "It was a win-win-win, as Dr. Jacobs called it," she said.
"I don't know what happened between the first part of March and the 22nd of March, but it died. I've gotta' believe there's some politics going on there that probably aren't for kids."
Parents and OSMTech staff had submitted proposals to make the program eligible for vocational education funds provided by the state.
Jacobs said, however, the proposals failed to meet necessary criteria, primarily because OSMTech has long provided primarily academic rather than vocational curriculum.
"The more we looked at the details of it, the more the proposal did not have integrity," he said. "They're just very different approaches to educating."
The Oakland Schools Board of Education plans to decide the fate of OSMTech in June, based on whether proponents can demonstrate financial self-sufficiency.
Nuccio said parents will look for corporate or foundation funding to keep the program afloat.
"I guess we're looking for somebody who understands the value of this program, and Oakland Schools is not it," she said.
They may have there hand on the "plug" but it hasn't been litterally pulled yet. What can we do to keep this from occuring?
Best,
Jim
Hi Sherry:
No problem! Moving forward on continued execution of plan B, C, and D. Stay tuned!
Best,
Jim
Hi folks:
In a brief conversation with Sherry Kuchon regarding the NSF Grant 2004 initiative on Tuesday, I was made aware of some conversations which took place during a meeting with Ed, Sherry, LaMoine and David Housel. Could someone please expand on same and convey the essence of those discussions so that we can internalize the information and proceed.
Thanks,
Jim
Hi folks:
Thanks for the directive regarding Regis Jacobs and his instructions.
LaMoine has some understanding regarding OSMtech, since it was orignally his idea. I believe he still supports his original concept and would be willing to faciliate (principal investigator) its continuence and expansion if a compelling NSF Grant initiative were concieved and developed that he could champion. Perhaps Ed's conversations with LaMoine will answer this question with certainty.
In an earlier "post" you suggested that Ed and you both agree that a university level "researcher" would strengthen the proposal. I'm wondering what I would tell same (Oakland University) regarding efforts to date and what their role and/or responsibilities would be?
Ed and Paul have been doing a wonderful job of identifying the "tent poles" for a proposal. The dialouge has moved to "skillful discussion." Please be mindful that this is a "research as learning" based initiative.
Best,
Jim
I hate to be the only one looking for the emperor's clothes....could someone elaborate on the focus of this project? I'm reading, from other sources that OSM may be folded into CFE and available to all 28 school districts. If so, does this project still exist....or whatever? I'm more than a little confused regarding the target.
My apologies and I won't ask again.
The excitement that is generated by such innovative tecnological applications would never be denied. That being said, we must be constantly aware that the students at OSM Tech are a fairly conversant lot when it comes to math and science backgrounds.(They can speak of conic sections...parabolas) This will probably(?) not be the case with the correspondents in the project. It is evident, from MEAP data, that many of the projected recipients of the peer mentoring process might not possess a similar enthusiasm for esoteric topics. I would hope that the focus of this project is not a victim of hyper-extension, then subsequent apathy, or worse, atrophy. In talking with Kyle, Rob, John and Mike, I sometimes feel that they have been allowed to "hyperextend" to a large degree, which is wonderful, but I'm curious as to how those aspirations would play in a less selective environment....a lot of academic options are available when students are filtered at the front door
For comparisons sake, look at the MEAP data from OSM compared to the general population or, worse, with corresponding grade level data fom the target population. Ernie Bauer, I would hope, would be glad to provide you with these comparisons as he has done for me in the recent past.
In short, I would hope that the goals of the project, while far-reaching and comprehensive, could be kept attainable (read as "a guaranteed success") while the concept is allowed to grow.
Devil's Advocate
I was involved in a similar project around twelve years ago years. We called it C-Pals and it entailed e-collaboration
between high school juniors and sixth grade students. It was done in a pen-pal format (we didn't have V-Tel) with a minimum set of criteria to be adhered to by all participants.
Measureables were monitored regularly...logs, personal journals, project progress, etc..
There were meetings agreed upon periodically on "each others turf" and all were engulfed by the project with great results.
This entire project was aided by a minimum of logistic issues as it existed within the Royal Oak schools...transportation, computer access (we've come a long way), teacher and
parental permissions and
administrative collaboration were relatively easy to obtain under that circumstance.
This is a great idea. Again...
how do you demonstrate that the strategy has worked with the population(s) involved? Has OSM been involved in any previous, similar collaborative projects?
Am I the only person concerned that this idea might already be in operation in many other venues. Doesn't NSF application look for original and innovative strategies...(
Devil's Advocate)
If I've missed the point entirely, do not read this BLOG.
Paul
NSF GRant 2004 Team:
Blog-site's as Learning Wheels / Ref: The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge
A place to reflect, build shared meaning and joint planning which in turn turns the action into a polished initiative.
http://www.fieldbook.com/
blogger
Best,
Jim
NSF Grant 2004 Team:
Something good to help us "shape" our understanding of the job at hand and to address within the grant initiative and/or outcomes.
http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/eisd5_20040305.htm
blogger
Best,
Jim
NSF Grant 2004 Team:
UPDATE
I now understand and totally agree. I'll let you know what Regis says.
Sherry Kuchon
Coordinator, Fund Development
2111 Pontiac Lake Road
Waterford MI 48328-2736
Phone: 248.209.2567
FAX: 248.209.2206
-----Original Message-----
From: James Ross [mailto:jross2@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 12:21 PM
To: 'Kuchon, Sherry'
Subject: RE: Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) NSF 04-553
Sherry:
Some of them are current participants, however, in "the interest of not spinning anyone's wheels" (one of my irrevocable tenets that sustains my
integrity) some have not received an invitation as of yet although we have spoken vaguely about their participation and the possibilities/opportunities the grant initiative represents to them.
I think we need some more identified "substantive understanding" prior to inviting them to the party (no wine before it's time) and at the very least when/if we receive a blessing from Regis, which would/could serve as a signal to proceed with some certainty and the resultant required due diligence.
Let me know what your thoughts might be.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: Kuchon, Sherry [mailto:Sherry.Kuchon@oakland.k12.mi.us]
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 10:38 AM
To: 'James Ross'
Subject: RE: Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) NSF 04-553
This is great Jim. Will/are all these folks be part of the blog site?
I will forward this information to Ed and get clearance from Regis to move ahead on the initiative.
Thanks for the note Jim.
Sherry
Sherry Kuchon
Coordinator, Fund Development
2111 Pontiac Lake Road
Waterford MI 48328-2736
Phone: 248.209.2567
FAX: 248.209.2206
-----Original Message-----
From: James Ross [mailto:jross2@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 10:17 AM
To: 'Kuchon, Sherry'
Subject: RE: Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) NSF 04-553
Hi Sherry:
I have been soliciting various "team members" during the past several weeks to help facilitate the grant initiative. Ed seems to have gotten his arms around the initial idea regarding OSMTech as a "proof of concept" for the grant initiative. Additionally, he has done an excellent job of outlining the educational elements with respect to the "contextual project" objective and the scalability opportunity via the Science and Math Corp mentoring aspect of the grant initiative.
PEOPLE (I BELIEVE CAN HELP US SUCCEED)
Lamoine Motz, Oakland Schools Math, Science, and Technology Center / Principal Investigator
David Downing / Oakland University / Dean of Arts & Sciences (If higher education is necessary)
Dwight Sieggreen / Northville Teacher and former President of the MSTA / Secondary Principal Investigator (NSF Connections) John Iras / Principal, Filmore Elementary / Warren Consolidated Schools / Curriculum Consultant
Paul Briercheck / Formerly of the Oakland Schools Technology Center/Southeast / Math and Science Co-ordinator
Kyle Hughes / OSMTech Science Teacher
Mel Drumm / Formerly director of the Detroit Science Center
Jim Fitzgerald / NASA-Glen Center, Ohio
Kevin Grazier / JPL, Pasadena, California
George Andrews / GM Knowledge Center / Director, World-wide Engineering Web-based Learning
Pat Thornberry / JASON Project Bert Okma / Principal, International Academy, Bloomfield Hills
Ed Hendry / Formerly GM Telecommunications Engineer
Tony Gallucci / CEO, MetroTel Communications
Additionally, many other people have committed to helping behind the scenes.
I've also been working on the development of various "pilot programs" and leverage opportunities to facilitate the sustainability of the initial grant initiative.
Please let me know what your thoughts might be regarding the above and next steps.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: Kuchon, Sherry [mailto:Sherry.Kuchon@oakland.k12.mi.us]
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 9:10 AM
To: Jim Ross (E-mail)
Subject: FW: Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) NSF 04-553
We have a green light from NSF to go forward as the lead agency for the IERI grant. This is good as I am familiar with the electronic submission process. Ed crafted some text that we can build on if you agree with the basic concepts he laid out. Now, who are our team members to assist in the development of this grant?
Sherry
Sherry Kuchon
Coordinator, Fund Development
2111 Pontiac Lake Road
Waterford MI 48328-2736
Phone: 248.209.2567
FAX: 248.209.2206
-----Original Message-----
From: Stanulis, Edward
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 8:57 AM
To: Kuchon, Sherry
Subject: FW: Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) NSF 04-553
Sherry, it looks like we can proceed with the NSF IERI.I've outlined a concept -- now we need someone to buy off on the idea. At what point do we bring in either/both Regis and Mary Kaye? Ed Stanulis Consultant, Fund Development Oakland Schools 2111 Pontiac Lake Road Waterford, MI 48328-2736 (248)209-2568
-----Original Message-----
From: Sloane, Finbarr [mailto:fsloane@nsf.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 6:28 PM
To: 'Stanulis, Edward '
Subject: RE: Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) NSF 04-553
Your school district is eligible. But keep in mind that you will along with your partner group have to show that the intervention has been effective with the group you already used it with. Best wishes, Barry
-----Original Message-----
From: Stanulis, Edward
To: 'fsloane@nsf.gov'
Sent: 2/03/04 10:47
Subject: Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) NSF 04-553
Dear Mr. Sloane:
Oakland Schools is an Intermediate School District serving 28 public school districts and 16 public school academies in Oakland County, Michigan. Would an Intermediate School District be considered eligible for NSF 04-553 as fiscal agent and partner with a higher education institution to develop a proposal for a contextual project? Our proposed research is to examine if the integrated science and math initiatives developed for the Oakland Science, Mathematics and Technology Academy
(OSMTech) can be scaled for utilization in a broader context to attract non-traditional students in middle and high school to STEM education and careers. OSMTech is a shared time program for students, grades 9-12, who have exceptional passion and interest for advanced science, mathematics and technology. Students attend OSMTech for half a day and return to their sending high school for the remaining half-day. OSMTech emphasizes the integration of math, science and technology, applied within a "real world" context in non-traditional learning environments. The curriculum is designed so those subjects are learned in more depth and at an accelerated pace. In the junior and senior years, many OSMTech students work with mentor scientists, mathematicians and technologists from local businesses, universities and industry. A component of the proposal is the development of a "Science and Math Corp composed of students at OSMTech to peer mentor other students to show how "cool" math and science can be and to mentor students at other schools to become more proficient in math and science.
Thank you for your advice and assistance.
Ed Stanulis
Consultant, Fund Development
Oakland Schools
2111 Pontiac Lake Road
Waterford, MI 48328-2736
(248)209-2568
