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Press Releases

September 25, 1998 - Polaris Career Center:  Polaris Career Center Receives $9.2 Million Grant From The U.S. Dept. of Education

September 24, 1998 - Polaris Career Center partners with  STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY TO DIRECT $9.3 MILLION U.S. DEPT. OF EDUCATION "TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CHALLENGE GRANT" FOR NATIONAL K-12 TEACHERS’ INTERNETSCIENCE TRAINING

September 22, 1998 Polaris Career Center as part of The Alliance Project receives one of 20 Nationally Awarded  Technology Challenge Grant For Professional Developmentfrom the U.S. Department of Education.
 

May 29, 1998  Polaris Career Center, as part of the Alliance applies for an Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant

March '98 Press Release

For Immediate Release     Contact:  Jan Prucha
September 25, 1998     (440) 891-7684

Middleburg Hts., OH -- The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $9.2 million dollar "Technology Innovation Challenge Grant" to Polaris Career Center in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.  Over the next five years the grant will allow more than 9000 teachers in Ohio, Arizona, and Florida, to receive hands-on-training to integrate Internet technology into classroom instruction.  That training will, in turn, impact on over 225,000 K-12 students in those states.
Polaris will serve as fiscal agent and training partner in the project.  Key partners with Polaris include the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, the League for Innovation in the Community College in California, Cuyahoga Community College, Miami-Dade Community College in Florida, and Maricopa Community College in Arizona.
During the five-year project, teachers will receive 30 hours of hands-on training as well as follow-up support..  Kent State University and Case Western Reserve University are two of several colleges and universities piloting a program to restructure the curricula for undergraduate college courses.  With a purpose of using the power of technology to improve instruction, and increase student achievement in math and science, the project will help teachers use the Internet in ways that promote student achievement and meet their state's academic standards.  Educators will use the Internet to go beyond the more common status as a "library style" research tool.
Polaris was chosen for partnership in this project because of its leadership in technology-related teacher professional development. Geoff Andrews, Polaris Technology Coordinator, is one of three co-directors for the project.  "This program focuses on four compelling uses of the Internet to improve science instruction in all grades.  In addition to science, however, we anticipate the project will generate cross-disciplinary projects, due to the nature of the material.  It incorporates a train-the-trainer model that we have already used effectively as part of the original Alliance program.  We are very excited about the outstanding partners we have in this endeavor," he said. Polaris superintendent, John A. Church, Jr., stated, "As a career center, our purpose is workforce development.  Our goal is to be on the cutting edge.  This grant will help us be on the cutting edge in the development of the educational workforce". With concern increasing as to education's ability to meet the needs of preparing youth for the 21st Century, the Polaris Career Center, with the support of the U.S. Department of Education, will continue to be an innovator in assisting teachers in meeting new teaching challenges.
For more information about the project, contact Geoff Andrews at Polaris Career Center (440) 891-7600. Geoff Andrews <gandrews@polaris.edu>

Other September Releases
March '98 Press Release

Middleburg Heights, OH --  Most teachers would agree that teaching in the '90's as well as preparing for the next decade, has presented more challenges than ever before.  Computer technology has brought a whole new world into the classroom and using this wonderful tool to its fullest potential has been one of the most challenging tasks.  Polaris Career Center and Cuyahoga Community College have begun an exciting program to assist educators with that challenge.  Science and math teachers from the school districts of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls and Strongsville have received intensive training in optimizing the most compelling uses of the Internet as a classroom tool.  These mentor or turnkey teachers will then provide similar training to their peers back in their districts. At the conclusion of this three-year cycle this training will have been provided to 800 educators in Northeast Ohio.  The first set of newly trained teachers will be demonstrating their new instructional strategies and the web sites they have developed in a special presentation to be held at Polaris Career Center's Instruction, Learning, and Technology Leadership Institute on May 27th  from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Instructional Learning Lab.  School administrators and board members from the participating districts will be present to see what these Savvy Cyber Teachers® have learned and what they will be teaching others. Tri-C  is one of three community colleges in the nation chosen to pioneer this type of training.  Tri-C and Polaris partnered on this US Department of Education grant to provide a new and compelling training model.  Also partnered in this grant from the U.S. Department of Education is the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey and the California-based League for Innovation (a consortium of technology-oriented two-year colleges), Tri-C, Maricopa Community College District  Phoenix AZ, and Miami-Dade Community College.  This program has received coverage from the Miami Herald and television stations in South Florida.  Media representatives are invited to attend this special presentation.  For additional information regarding the program and presentation, contact Geoff Andrews, Technology Coordinator, at Polaris Career Center, (440) 891-7728 Geoff Andrews <gandrews@polaris.edu> .

May '98 Press Release

As the Internet is being recognized as a compelling tool for educators, new ways to create awareness of this potential is being developed. Polaris Career Center (PCC) and Cuyahoga Community College (CCC) have been given a grant through the U.S. Department of Education to deliver Internet training to 800 science and mathematics educators in Northeast Ohio. One of only three community colleges from across the country chosen to initiate the training, Tri-C selected Polaris as a partner in the endeavor to further the work and success of educator training in Polaris' Instruction, Learning and Technology Leadership Institute (ILTLI). Geoff Andrews, Technology Coordinator for Polaris, and Mike Baker, ILTLI instructor, participated in a weeklong orientation at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. Stevens is part of the grant alliance that includes The League for Innovation in the Community College, Maricopa Community College District  Phoenix AZ, and Miami-Dade Community College Miami FL. At the Polaris ILT Leadership Institute and at Tri-C, teams will be trained in ten Internet learning experiences and applications in a 30-hour highly interactive workshop. Those teams, designated "turnkey trainers" (totalling 40 participants) will then provide similar Internet training to another 240 teachers. This cycle will be repeated in each year of the three-year grant. Training topics include getting online, using e-mail in the classroom, linking up around the world, real-time adventures on the Internet, searching for information, creating a school web site and others. Each participant will be required to prepare and deliver a final presentation.  Information about this unique opportunity for educators will soon be dispersed through the Greater Cleveland School Superintendents Association (GCSSA), the Northeast Regional Professional Development Center (NRPDC), and the Urban System Initiative (USI).  All middle and secondary science and mathematics educators are encouraged to participate.  More information can be obtained by contacting Geoff Andrews (440.891.7728 or Geoff Andrews <gandrews@polaris.edu> ) or Mike Baker (440.891.7694 or Mike Baker <mbaker@polaris.edu> ) or reviewing the remainder of these web pages.
 

Cuyahoga Community College Press Release
Alliance Project Press Releases

Resource Links for Alliance Trainers and Turnkey Instructors

 

November 2003 Press Release

IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY IS GOAL OF 1.7 MILLION DOLLAR GRANT

 New and Current Teachers will prepare for the “Technology Classroom"

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a 1.7 million dollar grant to a consortium of educational institutions which include local members Polaris Career Center and Cuyahoga Community College.  The Pathways Project grant provides instructional and technical support for both current teachers and students entering the career field of education.  More specifically, the three-year grant will enable preservice teachers and community college professors to create and implement Real World Learning Objects – learning experiences that leverage real time data and collaborative tools on the Internet.  The benefits of increased technology are many.  They include access to the vast resources of information throughout the world using videoconferencing and the Internet, challenging students and teachers to become engaged in real-world problems, encouraging communication, promoting team work, and creative problem-solving.  Although technology is being rapidly introduced into the classroom, not all teachers are comfortable using it and application tends to be lacking in complexity.  There is a significant need for professional development for educators.  Polaris’s Teaching Professions students will be among the first to benefit from the Pathways Project grant.  As “preservice” students they will be partnered with inservice (current) teachers to do advanced Internet activities.  The plan is for these groups to partner with each other; the inservice teachers will bring their teaching expertise to the Polaris students, who may be more confident with the technology.  Another role Polaris will play will be in providing technical and instructional facilities to Tri-C and other teacher prep programs in Florida, New York and Arizona.  Information Technology Director, Geoff Andrews states, “The Pathways Project is a continuation and a resounding affirmation of the work this partnership has accomplished in the last five years, helping teachers across the nation leverage the unique and compelling aspects of the Internet for learning.”   The Pathways Project grant will provide Polaris Teaching Professions students and community college students with unique, online learning opportunities which will benefit many future generations of school children.

This page last modified 11/13/2003

Mike Baker <mbaker@polaris.edu> teacher/coordinator
Geoff Andrews <gandrews@polaris.edu> Director of Technology
The Instruction, Learning & Technology Leadership Institute
Polaris Career Center
7285 Old Oak Blvd.
Middleburg Hts. OH 44130
(440) 891-7694
FAX (440) 826-4330