Bayfront Alternative Education Program
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Go to Changeshop: Bayfront Alternative Education Program.
Our goal is to continue to develop a nurturing, safe, alternative school environment to most effectively reach socio-economically underserved and disenfranchised youth. We have created a school setting that combines hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEM) which makes use of a fully equipped boatbuilding shop with traditional classroom and computer based instruction. Here students learn to develop the educational, emotional, behavioural and vocational skills necessary to achieve success in the 21st century global workplace. This program is a true collaboration between three entities: The Bayfront Maritime Center, The Sarah Reed Children’s Center and the Erie City School District. STEM based projects are integrated into the curriculum.
About You
About You
First Name
Richard
Last Name
Eisenberg
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Bayfront Maritime Center
Organization Website
Organization Phone
814-456-4077
Organization Address
40 Holland Street, Erie, PA 16507
Organization Country
United States, PA, Erie County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, PA, Erie County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Bayfront Alternative Education Program
What change do you want to bring to the world?
Our goal is to continue to develop a nurturing, safe, alternative school environment to most effectively reach socio-economically underserved and disenfranchised youth. We have created a school setting that combines hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEM) which makes use of a fully equipped boatbuilding shop with traditional classroom and computer based instruction. Here students learn to develop the educational, emotional, behavioural and vocational skills necessary to achieve success in the 21st century global workplace. This program is a true collaboration between three entities: The Bayfront Maritime Center, The Sarah Reed Children’s Center and the Erie City School District. STEM based projects are integrated into the curriculum.
What are the primary activities of your project?
AppOur students build boats. This process is complex and includes a multitude of STEM based, concepts, skills, and processes. In the design phase students learn to read and interpret plans. They use scale and learn about different measuring systems. They learn about the advantages and disadvantages of specific vessel design and how that applies to various sea conditions. They are introduced to Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Machining (CAM). Principles of gravity, buoyancy, lift and drag are introduced. They learn to carefully measure and manipulate fractions. They learn about appropriate material selection, and how the lumber, plywood, high density foam, fabrics, hardware and various adhesives are safely shaped and fastened. They learn to operate the new ShopBot Computer Numeric Control (CNC) router. This is cutting edge technology that was recently featured in a news article about STEM Education and President Obama’s tour of the FabLab in the Technology Department at Lorain County (Ohio) Community College. FabLabs are MIT-organized technology facilities with digital fabrication equipment intended to educate communities in how new digital tools can be used to design and make almost anything.
In the build phase students use a multitude of hand and power tools including digital fabrication equipment. Safety is a primary focus. Students are constantly working as a team to problem solve, stay on task, and complete each step. Our boatshop is truly a hands-on STEM lab.
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What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
The main unique and innovative components of our program are:
1. A strong partnership with 3 organizations to provide an Alternative Education Program for chronically disruptive youth
2. Challenging hands-on STEM boatbuilding projects using ShopBot CNC Digital Fabrication Equipment and Buffalo Computer Graphics Maritime Training Simulator in an Alternative Educational Program
3. Sanctuary Model Philosophy in a non-residential Alternative Educational Program
4. Modern, waterfront setting and small class sizes in an Alternative Education Program
We have combined the individual strengths and expertise of three separate organizations, a social service agency, the oldest in the region with over 130 years of experience in working with youth, the Erie City School District, and the Bayfront Maritime Center. This is a strong partnership that creates a supportive alternative educational environment for some of the hardest to reach students in the area.
We use hands-on STEM boatbuilding and maritime training projects with
small groups of students and a high teacher student ratio. The digital
fabrication equipment and the computer based maritime training
simulator is new, interesting and unique and commands the
students’ attention. They find it engaging and fun and that makes it easier
for a teacher to keep them on task. Therapeutic
counselling is one of the components making our program both unique
and effective.
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.
ApproxThe Bayfront Alternative Education Program is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. We serve the Erie City School District which is the largest school district in this metropolitan area, and in relationship to surrounding area school districts, the Erie City School District has been identified as one of the most socio-economically deprived. The inner city is a diversely populated area. A large percentage of families in this area live below poverty level. Consequently, residents (especially students) are subject to committing or becoming victims of violence, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, drug usage, school drop-outs, and several other damaging and debilitating life altering experiences daily.
The Bayfront Maritime Center (BMC) has served the community since 1998 by providing innovative learning experiences for disadvantaged youth throughout Erie County. Primary features of BMC are boatbuilding, sailing, carpentry, and education which prepare students for the 21st century workforce. Sarah Reed Children’s Center is the oldest Human Service Agency in the county and has operated since 1871. Since its inception, Sarah Reed has provided mental health services to families throughout the Erie area and the state. The agency has also provided educational supports to the Erie City School District for over 25 years.
Over the past few years, Sarah Reed adopted the Sanctuary Philosophy of Trauma Informed Care. This philosophy asks the question, “what has happened to this child,” rather than “what is wrong with this child”?
In 2009, BMC, Sarah Reed, and the Erie City School District formed a collaborative partnership to create the Bayfront Alternative Education Program. Our goal was to move away from the traditional model of alternative education and provide students and families with a unique and innovative experience that focused on improving behavior, increasing interest in education, restoring relationships, and reintegration into the regular classroom setting. Based on each entity’s area of expertise, we provide a safe, nurturing learning environment that combines education, personal development, and practical job experience.
The following community organizations and agencies were supportive of the Bayfront Alternative Education Program: The Parade Street Community Center, the Women’s Center, Preferred Systems, the Port Authority, Mayor Joe Sinott’s Office, the Maritime Museum, the Erie Metro Transit Authority, the Border Patrol, the Coast Guard, the Pennsylvania State Police, Erie County Juvenile Probation, and the Erie City Police.
In addition, the institutions of higher learning have been supportive: Penn State Behrend University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Gannon University and Allegheny College.
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Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
The Bayfront Maritime Center began operations in 1998 to provide access to the water for area citizens, primarily youth, who previously had none. Its mission is to: Develop and implement unique experiential, maritime themed educational, vocational and recreational opportunities for the community in a universally accessible waterfront facility.
Beginning in 1998 BMC collaborated with the Sarah Reed Children’s Center on multiple projects. Sarah Reed’s mission statement is: To promote the emotional well-being of children and families, helping them to realize their potential and experience success. Sarah Reed Vice President, Rick Scantlebury, and Bayfront Maritime Center founder and Executive Director, Rich Eisenberg have known each other since grade school. In spring 2009 an article in the Erie Times News stated that the Erie City School District was not satisfied with its current Alternative Education Program citing its high cost, lack of effectiveness, and was generating bad press for the Erie School District. Rick discussed this with colleagues at Sarah Reed and with Rich at the BMC and a collaborative proposal for a new and innovative program was created. The two nonprofit organizations worked closely with the Erie School District to begin this new Alternative Education Program for Disruptive Youth in the fall of 2009.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
Through the end of the 2nd school year 2010-11, of our Alternative Education Program the student population as a whole has experienced great successes. Over 70% of the students advanced to the next grade level, or received their high school diplomas. More than 50% of the students successfully completed all of their goals in the program and returned to their regular home schools. These are unusually high rates of success for an Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth program. As a result of our utilization of the Sanctuary Model®, 88% of the students showed a marked increase in pro-social behaviors and emotional management skills by the end of the school year. All of the students participated in career awareness and vocational skill development classes. In addition, the students built and completed the San Francisco Pelican and readied it for sailing in the Erie Bay. They developed many STEM skills including the use of mathematics in the design and construction of the boat, technology in the use of Computer Aided Drafting, engineering in the understanding of material uses and strengths, and science in the understanding of buoyancy, displacement, and drag co-efficients.
Finally, this program exhibited success through not needing to utilize the school district police force. The previous Alternative Education Program run in an Erie City School employed 4 full time police officers to assist in maintaining order in the program. Our program’s Sanctuary® approach and high interest curriculum should be credited for eliminating the need for police presence in this educational setting.
oximately 200 words left (1600 characters).
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?
Looking ahead to the next three years, we plan to provide additional broader based services to include not just the students but their entire families. These services include case management, an array of mental health and supportive services, as well as career counseling. We plan to further develop links with other maritime education organizations to help develop STEM maritime careers for the students in our programs. There is a 20% shortage of trained maritime personnel currently and that shortfall is projected by the US Coast Guard to be 35% in the next few years. In addition, we plan to further develop our Project SAIL after school program to increase the number of students currently involved.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
The biggest barrier to the success of this project is a significant reduction in school district funding for this upcoming school year, 2011-2012. The budget for the new school year has been reduced by 43%. For the previous two school years we staffed 5 classrooms. This school year we will begin with three classrooms. An additional barrier may be the marked reduction in Pennsylvania state education funding.
Tell us about your partnerships
The Bayfront Maritime Center (BMC) has served the community since 1998 by providing innovative learning experiences for disadvantaged youth throughout Erie County. Primary features of BMC are boatbuilding, sailing, carpentry, and education which prepare students for the 21st century workforce. Sarah Reed Children’s Center is the oldest Human Service Agency in the county and has operated since 1871. Since its inception, Sarah Reed has provided mental health services to families throughout the Erie area and the state. The agency has also provided educational supports to the Erie City School District for over 25 years.
Over the past few years, Sarah Reed adopted the Sanctuary Philosophy of Trauma Informed Care. This philosophy asks the question, “what has happened to this child,” rather than “what is wrong with this child”?
In 2009, BMC, Sarah Reed, and the Erie City School District formed a collaborative partnership to create the Bayfront Alternative Education Program. Our goal was to move away from the traditional model of alternative education and provide students and families with a unique and innovative experience that focused on improving behavior, increasing interest in education, restoring relationships, and reintegration into the regular classroom setting. Based on each entity’s area of expertise, we provide a safe, nurturing learning environment that combines education, personal development, and practical job experience.
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
$500,001‐1 million
Explain your selections
The primary source of support for this project is through a business contract with the Erie City School District. Sarah Reed and BMC also receive some support from charitable donations from businesses as well as individuals in the community. All three of the partners in this project have also received grants from various sources.
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
All three partners constantly strive to improve programs utilizing best practices. We also will be seeking additional funding from local, state and federal sources for grants.
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?
The partnership developed from a need identified by the Erie School District. Sarah Reed provides the teachers, behavioral support staff, counselling staff and administrative support. The Erie School District provides administrative support regarding AEDY regulations, special education policies, and legal requirements, and school meals. BMC provides a campus that includes seven classrooms, office space, a fully operational boatbuilding facility, maritime education expertise and staff, administrative support and a fleet of vessels.
How are you building in accountability for students' successful STEM learning outcomes? Please provide a summary and examples.
All students are assessed every 45 days for both academic progress and behavioral skill development. Stem projects in the boatshop and classrooms are assessed weekly. This includes attendance, participation level, competence in the use of workshop tools and materials as well as their comprehension of the core subjects. Students receive quarterly grades.
Needs
Research/Information.
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add needs that may not be listed.
Best practices for reaching at risk youth.
Offers
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add offers that may not be listed.
 | 93 weeks ago Richard Eisenberg updated this Competition Entry. |
| 93 weeks ago Richard Eisenberg submitted this idea. |
