The Delta Project
We want to improve the quality of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Washington State. To serve as a model for education reform and build a strong STEM-literate workforce able to compete in an ever-changing 21st century world through the development of curriculum which weaves modern STEM disciplines with every school subject in a way that is accessible to every public school student and educator. We have developed a collaborative effort with three school districts to create a The Delta Project, a public high school. Like the Greek symbol, Delta High School represents a convergence, a convergance of communities dedicated to this STEM initiative.
About You
About You
First Name
Karen
Last Name
Baker
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Washington State STEM Education Foundation
Organization Website
Organization Phone
(509) 420-9316
Organization Address
901 Northgate Drive, Richland, WA 99325
Organization Country
United States
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
The Delta Project
What change do you want to bring to the world?
We want to improve the quality of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Washington State. To serve as a model for education reform and build a strong STEM-literate workforce able to compete in an ever-changing 21st century world through the development of curriculum which weaves modern STEM disciplines with every school subject in a way that is accessible to every public school student and educator. We have developed a collaborative effort with three school districts to create a The Delta Project, a public high school. Like the Greek symbol, Delta High School represents a convergence, a convergance of communities dedicated to this STEM initiative.
What are the primary activities of your project?
The primary activities of our project include expanding professional and curriculum development. In terms of professional development, this project requires that teachers and staff collaborate with each other as well as STEM professionals. An integral part of Delta’s approach to STEM education is the continued development of the teaching professionals, trained to be experts in their given fields, who are required to design, implement, and facilitate industry grade STEM standards into their curriculum. This curriculum is project-based, connecting language arts, social studies, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and implementing literacy strategies across these content areas. Delta High School curriculum integrates STEM concepts into traditional high school subjects using industry technology and standards. Delta’s curriculum allows the typical teacher centered classroom to become a facilitated learning experience driven by problem solving, hands-on, real-world experiences, project-based learning, and constant inquiry. Delta curriculum development occurs through collaboration between teachers, STEM professionals, and the Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick School Districts. The STEM Foundation also supports Delta High School by making plans for student internships, coordinating community volunteers, organizing tours and visits to colleges, providing additional information technology resources and current and authentic research and interactions with the local STEM community.
What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
We are addressing a dire need in this country by applying a unique approach to learning with Delta High School. Delta features an every-changing curriculum, cross disciplinary nature, and continued engagement in current STEM methods. Our project has a couple advantages in comparison to other similar initiatives. First, Delta High School was the first high school of its kind in Washington State, and the first project undertaken by the Washington State STEM Education Foundation. It has a unique STEM-based curriculum that serves to create STEM-literate thinkers now, for our workforce tomorrow. Secondly, Since Delta High School is based in Tri-Cities, Washington—a community that was founded and continues to be sustained through STEM-focused companies such as Battelle—we have dozens of highly educated STEM professionals willing to donate their time and energy to our cause. Thus, we have the unique opportunity to ask dozens of local STEM professionals to help mentor our students and contribute input to our curriculum developments. Third, certain local companies have already pledged their monetary support. With support from more than fourteen area partners including Battelle and PNNL, we have already engaged in this innovative initiative to create a substantial and sustainable impact on the quality of STEM education in our local schools. And we will continue to strive towards our goal of providing students with the STEM education they need to compete in tomorrow’s workforce.
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.
The Tri-Cities is a rural community comprised of three smaller towns: Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick. Our community was founded in the early 1940’s during World War II in order to support the Hanford Site, a nuclear facility that created the plutonium for the “Fat Man” atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. Today, the Hanford Site still employs thousands, but its efforts to clean up the nuclear facilities will end in less than a decade. Although many in our area are employed in STEM-related careers, our students are still struggling in science, technology, engineering, and math education. For example, nearly sixty per cent of college-bound high school students require remediation, typically in math and science. Nearly one-third of Benton Franklin County students, entering ninth grade, will not graduate with their class. Our past experience with engagement efforts with our community have been positive. It seems those who are employed in STEM-related careers and who understand our community centers about STEM-related businesses appreciate our efforts to inform others about the importance of STEM education. We already possess the resources needed to improve the quality of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in our public schools. Familiarity with our community will allow us to understand how to reach out to local business owners and professionals.
Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
Battelle, the world’s largest independent research and development organization, and Washington State University-Tri-Cities, and the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts discussed the dire need for increased STEM education throughout the country. This founding group believed that a high school in the Tri-Cities focused on science technology, engineering, and mathematics education, could train students to be the STEM professionals our region so greatly needed. They envisioned an innovative high school offering options to improve learning and teaching that would help put the Tri-Cities at the forefront of education reform in the region. They formed an advisory group, then created committees to research and analyze funding viability, facility options, and additional community partnerships. In 2007 the concept for a STEM focused school was positively received by local school boards and a core planning team comprised of educators, scientists, engineering, community members, and higher education professionals assembled and developed a program of study. In 2008 the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Battelle offered this project grants to assist with developing programs of study. That same year, the Washington State STEM Education Foundation was formed to support the school. Delta High School was selected as the name of the school, because the Greek symbol delta sign represents a convergence, like the convergence of communities that dedicated their efforts to this STEM initiative. Delta High School welcomed its first class of incoming freshmen on September 1, 2009.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
Delta High School had a 100% participation rate for state testing during the 2010-11 school year and preliminary results show that Delta students tested well above the average, with over 98% passing state standards. As a public school with no admissions requirements, many of our students began Delta High School with reading and comprehension levels below a 5th grade level however, as of the 2011-12 academic year, roughly 95% of our first Junior class will be learning at an 11th grade level.
The successfulness of The Delta Project will be evaluated in meaningful ways depending on scope and sequence. Since this is a multifaceted project, based on three seperate goals: Outreach, Professional Development and Curriculum Development; these goals will be evaluated in several ways to determine effectiveness.
In terms of professional development, we will look first for visible increases in our volunteers, mentors, job shadows, company partners, local community partners. Scheduling teachers to present at national conferences, and professional development roundtables hosted by Delta High School teachers, will measure success. Overall integration of interdisciplinary projects into the academic year and evidence of Delta’s best practices and project implementation across school districts, plus efforts to follow up with tours, visitors, and visitor inquiries, will allow us to measure success.
We will measure curriculum development and implementation based on meeting state standards by rubrics that compare learning and student progress. We will implement short-cycle assessments, collect and evaluate data, learn from results and make improvements, and record the number of students fulfilling graduation requirements and compare those to the average Benton-Franklin counties. Effectiveness will be determined based on overall student progress in comparison to state-wide scores. A monthly meeting with partners to share evidence (test, projects, etc.) of implementation and progress will measure success.
How many people have been impacted by your project?
101-1,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
1,001-10,000
How will your project evolve over the next three years?
Over the next three years, our Delta Project will have graduated its first class, seen them move forward into college and careers, and established a model of best practices for integrating STEM subjects into standard curriculum. We will apply what we’ve learned from this “first generation” Delta graduate to classrooms in our partnering school districts and developing a community of educators addressing the need for STEM education reform. We will also implement new programs for Professional Development based on a "teacher swap", where Delta teachers will spend time teaching classes in our partnering districts, and those teachers will come teach a Delta class, exposing them to the STEM education method first-hand.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
Though Delta High School is a public high school, it only receives partial state funding, which is not enough to maintain the innovative education model we strive to provide for students. We are in need of establishing a permanent campus facility and the lack of state dollars means that Delta High School's supporting partners and the Washington State STEM Education Foundation must campaign for private funding to bridge that gap. Additionally, recruitment and awareness are a barrier to success since Delta is public school, with no admission requirements, however the majority of students in our partnerning school districts are unaware of that fact. Our Outreach Program helps to inform students and community members of Delta and its open enrollment policy.
Tell us about your partnerships
Our partnerships consist of 20 local STEM businesses and professionals, including Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, Energy Northwest, Energy Solutions, Kadlec Medical Center, VISTA Engineering Technologies, and Bechtel National, amoung others. Organizations such as Battelle, the world’s largest independent research organization, have granted the STEM Foundation generous support in the past. One way we maintain strong partnerships with other organizations that have offered financial support in the past is by calling upon individuals at these organizations to mentor students at Delta High School. This connection between STEM professionals and students allows us to develop partnerships that reach beyond merely financial relations. In addition, the STEM Foundation partners with local educational institutions such as Washington Sate University-Tri-Cities, Columbia Basin College, and the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. By recruiting teachers from all three school districts, Delta High School has created a well-rounded staff that maintains invaluable connections with other educators throughout the Tri-Cities area. These strong partnerships between educators at schools throughout our area has been—and continues to be—invaluable in the STEM Foundation’s quest to reach outside Delta High School’s classroom walls.
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
$250,001‐500,000
Explain your selections
We are supported by individual community members who donate time and money, other Foundations which are both national and local financial supporters, the business community which donates employee time, expertise and tools, and our regional government which helps to create legislation to fund and support the STEM education initiative.
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
We plan to strengthen our project over the next three years by expanding our community outreach efforts. Firstly, we recognize that the scope of the STEM Foundation is wider than just the Delta Project and the 300 students currently enrolled at the school. STEM outreach programs will engage a large and diverse group of educators, students, entrepreneurs, volunteers, mentors, and STEM professionals. Sharing Delta High School staff’s knowledge, best practices, and emphasis on STEM education with other educators, hosting professional development roundtables with other districts, and facilitating numerous meaningful community tours of Delta High School to observe our unique teaching techniques. Teachers will present at national conferences on innovative education strategies, then share with other educators. We are developing a student exchange program with other STEM-focused schools and grow STEM Con, a high school conference with participation from area high schools, MESA and GEAR up students (national programs designed for disadvantaged youths) which conducts hands-on workshops allowing the opportunity for students to experience STEM profession. We will implement STEM Contact, an annual awareness event targeting middle school students, expand STEM Connect, an annual outreach event which raises support for the STEM literacy initiative in our local community, and increase student attendance at Girls Learning about Manufacturing (GLAM) and Learning About Food Science (LAFS). Through these community outreach efforts we will continue to strengthen our project over the three years.
Partnerships and Accountability
Please tell us more about how your partnership was formed and how it functions. What specific role does each partner play? What unique resources does each partner bring to the initiative?
In 2006 the founding partners Battelle, Washington State University Tri-Cities (WSU-TC), and the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts discussed the possibility of a high school in the Tri-Cities that focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. An advisory group was created and committees were developed to research and analyze funding viability, facility options, and community partnerships. In 2007 the advisory group presented the school concept to local school boards and the idea was positively received. A core planning team comprised of educators, scientists, engineers, community members, and higher education professionals was assembled to develop a program of study. In 2008 the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Battelle provided grants to assist with developing the program of study. Columbia Basin College (CBC) joined the project and offered their former Richland campus rent-free to serve as the initial school site. In 2009 local companies, organizations, and individuals offered cash, materials, and time worth about $700,000 to help with renovating the CBC Richland campus. Based on community response, Battelle announced its intent to give up to $1.2 million to support the gap in operations funding for years one through four. Thanks to $800,000 in funding from the state of Washington, facility renovations were completed in 2009. The Washington State STEM Education Foundation has enjoyed avid community support from local businesses such as these.
How are you building in accountability for students' successful STEM learning outcomes? Please provide a summary and examples.
We will measure students’ successful STEM learning outcomes by furthering our curriculum development and implementation, and by evaluating our fulfillment of state standards by comparing learning and student progress with rubrics. We will implement short-cycle assessments, collect and evaluate data, learn from results and make improvements, and record the number of students fulfilling graduation requirements and compare those to the average Benton-Franklin counties. Effectiveness will be determined based on overall student progress in comparison to statewide scores.
Needs
Investment, Marketing/Media, Research/Information, Innovation/Ideas, Mentorship.
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add needs that may not be listed.
We are also in need of program funding, access to current technology, opportunities for networking about the importance of STEM literacy, as well as student scholarships for under-represented student population
Offers
Research/Information, Collaboration/Networking, Innovation/Ideas, Mentorship.
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add offers that may not be listed.
 | 94 weeks ago Karen Baker updated this Competition Entry. |
| 94 weeks ago Karen Baker submitted this idea. |
