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The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has awarded a second
$180,000 grant to the Regional Offices of Education 10 and 40,
Blackburn College and the Hurst Rosche Engineering Company as part
of its Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships (IMSP) program.
The IMSP program is a highly competitive grant program designed to
enhance the mathematics and science content knowledge and teaching
skills of classroom teachers. The grant is one of just 20 Illinois
partnership projects and has distributed more than $5.2 million in
educational grant awards in Illinois over the past year. The
mathematics and science teaching and learning needs of schools and
school districts in the partnership were determined by a statewide
comprehensive needs assessment, input from ROE staff and school
administrators, and through ISBE report card information.
The 2006 grant will allow math and science middle school teachers
from Calhoun, Christian, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin and Montgomery
counties to attend an orientation in May, a summer institute at
Blackburn from July 10-21, four follow-up sessions and provide
teachers the opportunity to purchase classroom materials and
equipment.
"This Math and Science program directly addresses some of our area's
greatest needs as we work to prepare young people for a global
economy that puts an ever higher premium on technology and
technological innovation,” said Blackburn Provost Jeffery Aper.
“It's just one component of our growing network of partnerships with
area educators - partnerships built on a long history of preparing
excellent teachers and a vision of expanded efforts to continue to
strengthen the quality of elementary, secondary, and undergraduate
education in Illinois."
The unique partnership was formed last summer when 41 math and
science elementary teachers from the same six county area invested
in a two-week summer institute at Blackburn. The group’s efforts
positively impacted over 1,000 area elementary students.
“Last summer I had the wonderful opportunity to become a science
student again. It was eye-opening to be on the other side of the
teacher-student relationship after 17 years of teaching,” said Dawn
Roesch who is an elementary teacher in Virden. “The teaching lessons
I garnered from the session have engaged every student in my
classroom and created a true love of learning that will be pursued
for a lifetime as they use the skills we, as teachers, helped them
to develop along the way.”
Blackburn science professors Dr. Edward Zalisko, Dr. Mark Armstrong,
Dr. Jim Bray, Dr. David Reid and Dr. John Schaefer and math
professor Dr. Chris Morin teamed together to teach content knowledge
in math and science through panel discussions, lectures and
laboratory hands-on activities. Dr. Virginia Bryan, who is a former
professor at SIU-Edwardsville’s School of Education, provided
teaching strategies and Tom Baker, of Hurst-Rosche Engineering, gave
the group insight into how mathematicians, scientists and engineers
work in the real world.
“The IMSP grant allows us at Blackburn to give back to the community
in a different way, by promoting a better and broader understanding
of math and science. We enjoy connecting more extensively with our
local colleagues teaching at the elementary, middle school and high
school levels,” said Dr. Zalisko. “The best hope for our students is
to instill and maintain the seeds of wonder that are sown in young
minds long before they reach our college and university classrooms.”
Pending federal and state approval, a 2007 grant will enable those
teachers in grades 9-12 to attend and push the total monies awarded
by this program to $540,000.
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