The Vance County Early High School/STEM Program (EHS2P) will open to approximately 100 sixth graders on August 27, at Northern Vance High School for the 2012-2013 school year.
Superintendent Ronald E. Gregory has announced the school’s students, selected through a lottery process, will attend classes in a renovated area of Northern Vance.
The new school will eventually serve students in grades 6-8, with a new sixth grade added each year.
“This is an innovative, 21st Century learning concept that will spark the interest of our students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math and will lead to job opportunities of the present and future, thus, allowing our students to be competitive in a global society,” Gregory said.
The mission of the STEM program is to provide a small, personalized learning community that prepares students with high interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for global success through a challenging, purposeful program of study based on relevance and rigor and delivered in a climate of mutual trust and respect.
In addition to being taught Common Core Standards in mathematics and English/language arts and N.C. Essential Standards in science and social studies, students will participate in several curricular components. These include: science based inquiry and experiments; project based instruction; connection to the Grand Challenges for Engineering; science outdoor lab; robotics; and industrial visits. Each student also will be issued a laptop computer.
The Grand Challenges for Engineering include the instructional topics of making solar energy economical, providing energy from fusion, developing carbon sequestration methods, managing the nitrogen cycle, providing access to clean water, restoring and improving urban infrastructure, advancing health informatics, engineering better medicines, reverse engineering the brain, preventing nuclear terror, securing cyberspace, enhancing virtual reality, advancing personalized learning and engineering the tools of scientific discovery.
Students also will participate in an Elective Wheel, which involves a rotation of elective courses that support the goal of the STEM program. These electives are designed to prepare students to take English 1, Algebra 1 and Spanish 1 by the time they are eighth graders. Each classroom in the EHS2P will have a SmartBoard, video conferencing technology and lab stations.
Operating hours for the new school for students will be 8:15 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. each weekday. The school will follow the same academic calendar as other Vance County Schools (with the exception of the Vance County Early College High School at Vance-Granville Community College). The EHS2P students will change classes together and separate from the high school students. They will have their own lunch schedule and physical education classes.
The EHS2P staff will include four middle school teachers and a STEM program coordinator. Each middle school student will be paired with an honors or advanced placement senior student at Northern Vance High School. The seniors will work regularly with the middle school students as mentors. At various times, the middle school students will visit the high school honors or advanced placement classes with their senior mentor.
Students and their parents will be able to visit the EHS2P on Wednesday, August 22, from 6:00-8:00 pm for orientation sessions. During these sessions, they will learn more about the school’s program, go through training to use their laptop computer, tour the school, and meet their teachers and the STEM coordinator. The sessions also will include a question-and-answer period.
A special invitation is extended to the Members of the Vance County Board of Education and the Vance County Board of Commissioners and interested citizens to tour the program on Monday, August 20, at 5:30 pm.
This is an awesome opportunity for our students! Can’t wait for it to expand into our high schools.
I love how Terri Hedrick tries to make you think that Vance County’s “newest” idea is the best thing since sliced bread…Where were the local administrators when Bill & Melinda Gates gave all that $$$$ into the “School within a School” concept such as the School of Health/Life Sciences or School of Integrated Technology? This STEM approach will be successful only if the PARENTS buy into it and from what I read/listen to, it has about as much a chance of being productive as Penn State has in getting the statue of Joe Paterno being put back outside the football facilities. The short sightedness of the Vance County Board of Education is so funny that you don’t have to watch Comedy Central…just listen/watch what they do. I would be willing to bet my last pig off my uncle’s pig farm that within 2-3 years this will be thrown to the side and a ‘new’ fad will be branded as being getting kids ready for jobs in the 21st century. HELLO VCS…..if you want to look at what a good school board and superintendent do, look no further than to your neighbor down 85south in Granville County. 3 High Schools with the Small School(school within a school) concept, highly qualified administrators and central office staff and a superintendent who doesn’t put up with the excuses of “We can’t afford it” or “We will have to wait and see if we can afford it”. He is a forward thinking individual who doesn’t have to answer to ‘friends’ that are owed favors. From what I hear about Dr. Farley, his only addiction is to The Wizard of Oz? Not sure about that but that’s what I was told by an employee of GCS. As far as Vance County Schools goes….how much education does your superintendent have? I know for a fact he doesn’t have a Doctoral Degree although I’m a firm believer that you aren’t qualified more/less due to the amount of years you spent in higher learning institutions. Check the state stats on Superintendents and see how many don’t have a Doctoral Degree and I would think VCS would once again prove itself. How many of the principals in Vance County have Doctorates? I heard one sat and did most of his work online at school during school hours so basically he was getting his work done ‘on the clock’!! Must be nice to live/work/play in such an enviroment!!!!
Deception, I recall you saying you are an employee of Vance County School system. It is not advisable to bite the hand that feeds you.
well said Deception
OILF-get your head in the game….I never said I was an employee of VCS…..I did say that I get 10 weeks off for the summer….couple weeks at Christmas…couple days at Thanksgiving,etc. FYI: It’s a couple of other county schools within driving distance from your location if I’m not mistaken? Gotta go…..my kids want me to read with them. Pass it on…it may improve the graduation rates in Vance County!! LOL!!!
Nice post, Deception.
Deception my apology to you. You did say fellow co-worker in the field when responding about the $20 gift card you rejected. Naturally I assumed fellow co-worker in the field you meant a fellow teacher in Vance County Schools, since a Vance County School teacher won the gift card. Instead you’re an employee of a school system other than Vance County’s. That is a good thing for you and Vance County.
OILF-No problem w/your misunderstanding. I just consider anyone who tries to enrich a child a ‘co-worker’ especially if they are doing so in a school setting. Too many LOUD MOUTHS who Talk the Talk…but Dont Walk the Walk when it comes to doing their part. Here’s a puzzling ? that I have and can’t figure out….with all the African American Churches in the area, why are they sitting idly by and losing an entire generation? Like I posted on here earlier, count the # of Murders in Henderson/Vance area and you will see that 90% are Black on Black. Too many self proclaimed Black Activists claim that its the White Man’s Fault while they drive around in their nice whips(cars) for those of you who don’t know that “slanguage”. I hear a County Commissioner come onto WIZS 1450 Town Talk almost weekly and stumble all over his words. What example does he give to the public when he was witnessed 1st hand taking a lil’ nap during an official county commissioners meeting!!!