MCLA, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA. -

"Coming out of the History Department at MCLA, and also having spent three years working on the Student Government Association (SGA), I had hoped to continue to pursue my interests and get a job working in government. I had been to the State House a few times for Student Lobby days, and had been in touch with my local representatives all throughout school, so after graduation, this was certainly to my advantage, as I now work on Beacon Hill."

Danielle Barboza ’06
Survivor Benefits Analyst – State Retirement Board, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Berkshire STEM Network

Strategic Plan 2006-2009

Goal 1: Increase students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, & mathematics

Increasing student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, both as fields of study and as potential careers is critical to the economic development of Berkshire County. The Network and its members will nurture students’ interest by expanding the number and range of activities that introduce students to STEM fields in innovative and engaging ways. Our primary measure of success with this goal will be the number of students who participate in activities designed to build interest in STEM fields. By 2009 we hope to expose 10% of Berkshire county K-12 students to at least one STEM interest-building activity per year. In addition, we will track students’ intentions to major in STEM fields in college as a long term indicator of our progress.

Activity	Lead Agency/ Contact	FY 2006 (7/1/05 to 6/30/06)	FY 2007 (7/1/06 to 6/30/07)	FY 2008 (7/1/07 to 6/30/08)	FY 2009 (7/1/08 to 6/30/09)
Got Math?	BCC/ Charlie Kaminski	--	Target: 100 students Actual:	Target: 100 students	Target: 100 students
High School Science Fair	MCLA/ Monica Joslin	Actual: 69 high school students	Target: 75 students Actual: 116 students	Target: 100 Actual: 114 students Revised Target: 139	Target: 120 students
Middle School Science Fair	North Adams Schools/ Melodie Goodwin	Actual: 67 middle school students	Target: 75 students Actual: 100 students	Original Target: 90 students Revised Target: 120 Actual: 100	Target: 120 students
STEM Career Fair	BCC/ Julie Hannum	--	Target: 300 Actual: 300	Target: 300 students	Target: 350 students
Bose In Harmony with Education	MCLA/ Lisa Provencher	Actual: 1244 middle school students	NA	NA	Target = 2000 students
Living Landscapes	Berkshire Museum/ Maria Mingalone	--	Actual: 408 elementary students	Target: 400 students	Target: 400 students
Connected for Success	Conte Community School/Berkshire Museum	Actual: 45 students	Actual: 45 students	Target: 45 students	Target: 45 students
Creative Schools Partnership	Crosby Elementary/ Berkshire Museum	Actual: 173 elementary school students	Actual: 162 elementary school students	Target: 180 students	Target: 180 students
Living Landscapes--Teaching in Nature (Classroom Modeling and Museum Visit)	Berkshire Museum and Adams-Cheshire Regional School District		Actual: 408 students	Target: 408 students	Target: 408 students
Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative	North Adams & Pittsfield Schools	North Adams: 147 Pittsfield Public: 497 Pittsfield Catholic: 61	North Adams: 370 Pittsfield Public: 1434 Pittsfield Catholic: 148
Middle School Robotics Camp	MCLA Physics Dept.	Actual : 20	Actual : 20	Target: 20	Target: 20
Elementary Summer Science Camp	North Adams Schools/Noella Carlow	Actual: 97	Actual: 125
Space Race	MCLA/ Mike Dalton		Actual: 28	Target: 25	Target: 25
Berkshire Robotics Challenge	BATC/Denise Johns	Actual: 166 students	Actual: 130 students
Young Women in Science Summer Program	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 25	Actual: 25	Target: 28 Actual: 24	Target: 28
Young Women in Science School Year Program	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 450	Actual: 450	Target: 450	--
Robotics After School Program	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 15	Actual: 24	Target: 30	--
Berkshire Environmental Education Network Annual Conference	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 70	Actual: 150	Target: 180	--
Flying Cloud Summer Programs (sessions I, II, and III)	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 100	Actual:125	Target: 125	--
STOMP (Student Teacher Outreach Mentoring Program)	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 170	Actual: 230	Target: 500	--
GIRLS! In Science	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 14	Actual: 22	Target: 25	--
Mt. Everett After Hours—Science Programs	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	--	Actual: 20	Target: 25	--
Math/Art/Science Residencies	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 160	Actual: 300	Target: 350	--
Creative Schools Program (teaching math and science through the arts)	Flying Cloud Institute and SBRSD/Jane Burke	--	Actual: 275	Target: 350	-

Goal 2: Increase availability of STEM K-12 teachers

Shortages of STEM faculty at the middle and high school levels and of mathematics specialists at the elementary level pose a significant challenge to Berkshire County School Districts. Institutions of higher education can play a critical role in the development of STEM-qualified faculty.

The proportion of middle and high school STEM positions held by appropriately licensed faculty will be our chief measure of success in increasing the availability of STEM teachers.

Activity

Lead Agency/

Contact

FY 2006

(7/1/05 to 6/30/06)

FY 2007

(7/1/06 to 6/30/07)

FY 2008

(7/1/07 to 6/30/08)

FY 2009

(7/1/08 to 6/30/09)

MMSP Science PD

MLCA/

Adrienne Wootters

Actual: 11

Actual: 15

MMSP Math PD

MCLA/

Freda Bennett

Actual:11

Actual: 7

Goal 3: Increase the quality of STEM education through professional development for K-12 faculty

Student interest in STEM fields will also benefit through more engaging and innovative STEM education in our regular education curriculum. Providing professional development for faculty to improve their knowledge of STEM fields and share best practices in STEM education will help the Network enhance the quality of STEM education in Berkshire County. In addition, access to resources such as equipment, curricula, and opportunities to share information and ideas with colleagues can enable faculty to improve the quality of their teaching.

Our major indicators of success in advancing the quality of STEM education through professional development will be the number of faculty exposed to STEM-related professional development on an annual basis, as well as the number of faculty who access resources from the Resource Center housed at MCLA.

Activity	Lead Agency/ Contact	FY 2006 (7/1/05 to 6/30/06)	FY 2007 (7/1/06 to 6/30/07)	FY 2008 (7/1/07 to 6/30/08)	FY 2009 (7/1/08 to 6/30/09)
STEM Saturday Seminars	MCLA/ Lisa Provencher	--	--	Target: 20	Target: 20
STEM Summit	MCLA/ Lisa Provencher	Actual: 59	NA	Target: 100	Target: 100
STEM Resource Center/website	MCLA/ Lisa Provencher	Actual:1106 hits	Target: 1300 hits	Target: 1300 hits	Target: 1300 hits
STEM Fellows Program	MCLA/Lisa Provencher	--	Target: 6 Actual: 4	Target: 6	Target: 6
MITS (Museum Institute for Teaching Science)	Berkshire Museum/ Joanne Harnden	Actual: 15 teachers	Actual: 13 teachers	Target: 15 teachers	Target: 15 teachers
Living Classrooms--Teaching in Nature Professional Development	Berkshire Museum/ Maria Mingalone		Actual: 10 teachers	Target: 30 teachers	Target: 30
Living Landscapes--Teaching in Nature Professional Development In-Service for Adams Cheshire Reg. School District	Berkshire Museum/Maria Mingalone		Actual: 63 teachers (k-6)	Target: 63 teachers	Target: 63 teachers
Engineering is Elementary	Boston Museum of Science/ Lisa Provencher		Actual: 14 Teachers	Target: 20 Actual: 14	Target: 20
Renewable Energy Course	MCLA/ Center for Ecological Technologies/ Monica Joslin		Actual: 12	Target: 20	Target: 20
Evolution Workshop	MCLA/ Lisa Provencher		Actual: 20	NA	Target: 20
Upper Housatonic River Valley Course	MCLA/BCC/ Monica Joslin		Actual: 9	Target: 16 Actual: 16	Target: 15
Berkshire Environmental School Team	CET/ Nancy Niland Cynthia Gribaldi	--	Actual: 11	NA	NA
Robotics	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 7	Actual: 11	Target: 28	--
Berkshire Environmental Education Network (conference prep workshop for teachers)	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	Actual: 32	Actual: 34	Target: 40	--
Creative Schools Grant	Flying Cloud Institute/Jane Burke	--	Actual: 22	Target: 25