Phenix City Board of Education OKs $167,500 for STEM teacher training
Two days after Alabama's state superintendent called the $2.1 million Dyer Family STEM Center being constructed at Phenix City Intermediate School an "unmatched" educational facility, the folks responsible for making it result in improved student achievement authorized spending $167,500 to train 24 teachers who will lead that effort.
The Phenix City Board of Education unanimously approved the professional development contract with Discovery Education during its monthly meeting Thursday.
Silver Spring, Md.-based Discovery Education, a subsidiary of Discovery Communications LLC, provides digital content aligned with state curriculum standards and trains teachers to effectively deliver that high-tech instruction.
Too often, teachers say, education administrators expect them to improve student achievement without giving them the resources to improve their instruction.
"McDonald's spends more time teaching people how to fry fries in their school than we do sometimes giving teachers professional development," Phenix City superintendent Randy Wilkes told the board during Tuesday night's work session. "... We know from research that it takes 80 hours of professional development to change the pedagogy of a classroom."
And that's how many hours of training Discovery Education will give each of the 24 selected teachers in 2016 to be STEM certified, Wilkes said. In turn, they will share the learning with their colleagues.
"Hopefully, this is something we continue every year and we continue to grow this and we continue to add people underneath these master STEM teachers," Wilkes said.
The STEM center is scheduled to open in August, when Phenix City students in grades 6-7 will have state-of-the-art equipment for hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering and math. But teachers in grades K-8 are eligible to apply for the STEM training from Discovery Education. Principals will select the participants by Feb. 1, Wilkes said.
Last month, about 75 local educators, administrators and community and business leaders gathered in the Phenix City Professional Development Center, where Discovery Education led them through a three-hour retreat to form a collective vision and strategy for creating a culture of innovative STEM instruction.
Discovery Education boasts a track record of helping school districts improve student achievement. For example, according to Wilkes, the teachers who took the training in Collier County (Fla.) Public Schools increased their scores on the state's standardized tests by an average of 4 percentage points in fifth grade and by 17 percentage points in eighth grade, and English language learners were 66 percent more likely to score at the proficient or higher level.
"In education, research has shown that teaching quality and school leadership are the most important factors in raising student achievement," Wilkes told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. "For teachers and school and district leaders to be as effective as possible, they continually expand their knowledge and skills to implement the best educational practices. Educators learn to help students learn at the highest levels.
"Many people may not be aware of their local school system's methods for improving teaching and student learning. Professional development is the only strategy school systems have to strengthen educators' performance levels. Professional development is also the only way educators can learn so that they are able to better their performance and raise student achievement."
In other action, the board unanimously approved the following expenditures to help equip the STEM center:
$107,002 for the Magic Planet, a 4-foot digital video globe, from Global Imagination of Campbell, Calif. The price is about $23,000 less than originally thought, Wilkes said.
$84,506 for the zSpace virtual learning lab from Vizitech of Eatonton, Ga. The price is about $5,500 more than expected, Wilkes said, because the final plan added two additional machines for a total of 14 stations, including two for teachers. According to its website, the zSpace system produces desktop virtual reality through a combination of high-definition stereopsis, integrated head tracking with full-motion parallax and a precision interactive stylus.
$64,995 for the river tank system from Just Add Water of Conyers, Ga.
$64,995 for three saltwater aquariums, also from Just Add Water. Both bids from Just Add water were $15,000 to $20,000 less than estimated, Wilkes said.
Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.
SAVE THE DATE
The Phenix City Education Foundation's 15th annual Heart of the Community Awards will be Jan. 30, starting at 7 p.m., at Central High School. Outstanding teachers and other school system employees, as well as education supporters, will be honored. Coffee and dessert will be served.
The program has been a ticketed event, but free admission is offered this year through donor sponsorships. Before the ceremony, the public also is welcome to attend the Dyer Family Reception, which will start at 5:30 p.m.
This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Phenix City Board of Education OKs $167,500 for STEM teacher training ."