PREP-KC Celebrates 5 Years and Prepares for the Future
On Friday, September 23, PREP-KC, educators, and supporters convened at the Stowers Institute. We celebrated the successes of the past 5 years- impressive educational gains in all six of our urban districts! We also looked forward at the next five years. Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Open Education Solutions, spoke about the challenges facing today's schools and emphasized the importance of not only meeting these challenges with traditional methods, but also using technology to increase learning in the classroom. Thank you to everyone who has and will continue to support area schools!
Jeff McFarlane, a Science teacher at Harmon High School, said he is seeing an increase in the number of students requesting biotechnology classes as a result of this Academy. In fact, he related, “each of the Harmon students made a personal request to take Biotechnology with me next year. Only one had selected the course during enrollment last spring.”
When discussing the content of the course, Jeff and Dr. Elizabeth Wenske (a KU instructor and co-teacher of this class) agreed that these Academies:
· Increase interest in science – In Jeff’s words, “Students saw that they can do and understand some pretty cool things with science. We made real science feel more accessible.”
· Introduce students to college-level science – Elizabeth related, “Some of the material and skills we taught are also utilized in college level microbiology courses including those at the University of Kansas.”
To look at photos of the Biosciences Accelerated Academy, check out this neat slideshow that Jeff put together!
Biosciences Accelerated Academy was developed in partnership with Kansas City Kansas Community College, Johnson County Community College, and KU Medical Center, and it engages students from both KCKPS and KCMSD who are seeking careers in this field.
Career Jumping at Harmon High School
PREP-KC's Career Jumping Events kicked off this Fall semester at Harmon High School with an event for Communications SLC Freshman. Eleven communications professionals spoke to the ninth-grade students on their educations, careers and backgrounds. The students were engaged and very appreciative of the time the professionals took out of their day to spend with them.
Career Jumping at Paseo
On February 11th, 13 Kansas City professionals from several different industries, visited the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. They met with 50 students and talked about their educations, careers and respective industries - ranging from law enforcement to photography.
This is the second Career Jumping PREP-KC has held at Paseo and both have been wonderful successes. The students were all engaged and focused, and excited to share their creative writing and visual arts experiences with the professionals.
The only complaint from the students was that there wasn't enough time!
Career Jumping for Central Students Interested in Health
On September 9, fourteen professionals with a wide range of careers in the health care industry met with Central High School students interested in health careers.These events make a big impact on students during their freshman year as they are just starting to think about and explore what they want their future to hold. Thank you from the students, from Central High School, and from PREP-KC for understanding how important these events are for our students. Thank you to everyone who participated in this successful event!
Career Jumping for Central Students Interested in Human Services
PREP-KC hosted a truly wonderful career jumping for freshman at Central High School students who are beginning to explore careers. We had a variety of professionals from College Professor to Lawyer to FBI Agent to Firefighters to Non-Profit managers. All of the professionals had a genuine passion for sharing their knowledge, their advice and their backgrounds with the students at Central. The students had some amazing comments to make after the experience, including "Since I have now learned that college is a necessity to be exceptionally successful I'll be more productive during my classes." That is what these events are all about. Opening the eyes of young high school students to the numerous possibilities that are out there for them and what steps are necessary to make it happen.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible!
Career Jumping for Wyandotte Business Students
PREP-KC partnered with Wyandotte High School to host Career Jumping for incoming Freshman with an interest in Business and Finance! Fifty students in the Business Small Learning Community joined 13 professionals to learn about the many career pathways in business. As some of you know, there were three of these career jumpings going on at once. That means we had approximately 40 professionals at Wyandotte talking to around 150 freshman on their first day!
Students heard from a broad range of professionals: architecture, law, finance, IT and more. Each student spent six minutes with every professional learning about their career, the skills needed for that career and their educational background. It was a great event to help open students eyes to the many opportunities open to them if they remain focused and involved in school- a perfect way to start their high school career!
Career Jumping for Wyandotte Global Technology and Engineering Students
PREP-KC and Wyandotte High School partnered to host a Career Jumping event for incoming freshman with an interest in Global Technology and Engineering!
Career Jumping for Wyandotte Performing and Creative Arts Students
Friday we had an exciting an event at Wyandotte High School for the Performing Arts Freshmen during their Freshmen Orientation. Forty freshmen joined fifteen professionals in the Creative and/or Performing Arts professions. Each student spent six minutes with each professional learning about their career, the skills needed for that career and their educational background. All of the freshmen spoke to musicians, dancers, actors/actresses, directors, designers, graphic designers, tv and film producers, writers, stage managers and more. This was such an exciting event to have for freshman on their first day in their high school and a fun way to introduce them to their Small Learning Community at Wyandotte. These freshmen can think back on this experience as they make their way through the next fours years of high school in the performing arts!
Central Career Jumping for Business
PREP-KC and the KCMO School District hosted Career Jumping for Central Business students on September 30, 2011. Over 40 freshman students from the Business Management and Entrepreneurship Career Academy met with area professionals to discuss careers, post-secondary education, and the challenges they faced and overcame. After reading through student evaluations, it's clear that they picked up on the energy and enthusiasm the professionals brought to this event. One student talked about being "amazed" at meeting so many people who love their job - and were willing to sit down and explain it to him. Thank you to the professionals, to Central High School administration and teachers, and to the Central students!
Central Visits KU Med
PREP-KC partnered with the KU School of Medicine and Quest Diagnostics to help students who are Central Middle School Math Achievers explore careers in health sciences. Central students were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the KU Medical School Campus, including a visit to the Clinical Skills Lab. There, current KU Med students Bailey Roberts and Travis Gratton introduced the Central students to the Sim Man, a life-sized symptom simulator model. As the medical students adjusted the models on a computer, Central students listened through stethoscopes to hear a variety of different medical symptoms, including a "wheezing" chest and a "crackling" chest. After that it was off to the Problem Based Learning Lab where students tested their problem solving skills as they worked through a series of hypothetical symptoms and evidence in order to diagnose a patient, the fictitious Mr. Anderson. Throughout the visit, Bailey, Travis and other KU Med students shared their pathways to medical school with the Central students and highlighted how good math skills can translate into a great career.
Dreams2Reality Luncheon at Wyandotte High School
Dreams2Reality Luncheon at Wyandotte High School on October 22.
Engineering Academy 2011
Allison Hartnett, KCKCC adjunct faculty, said, "The academy is getting students excited about engineering and we've already seen an increased number of students pursuing post-secondary pathways within engineering."
The Engineering Accelerated Academy is a partnership between PREP-KC, Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC), and KCKPS. Cohorts of high school students are participating in learning experiences on the KCKCC campus to deepen student learning and engagement in engineering. Students in the Engineering Academy worked collaboratively to design a random number generator, explore robotics, and meet professionals in their career path of interest.
As a result of the rigorous exposure to hands-on engineering projects & connections KCKPS students are building with KCKCC faculty, numerous students have chosen to continue their engineering path at KCKCC after graduating from high school.
Harmon High School Visits the Arts Incubator
In early November, PREP-KC helped host a phenomenal experience at the Arts Incubator in Kansas City. PREP-KC worked with the Arts Incubator to bring students from Harmon High School's Visual Arts Small Learning Community for an exciting and creative morning with artists.
Students spoke with multiple artists about their education and careers, their work and their inspirations. They explored all the levels of the Arts Incubator and were able to watch an artist work on the printing press. They even enjoyed homemade cookies and were able to win pieces of art by answering questions about what they learned during the tour.
Finally, artist Alexander Austin joined the students to visit the mural that Alexander is currently working on at the corner of 19th and Paseo, where he discussed what it means to be a mural artist.
The group of artists that greeted the students were warm and inviting and were genuinely excited and interested in sharing their time and expertise with students. And the students sensed that. The students were able to see a wide range of work from multiple artists and learned some important first-hand lessons about how to market yourself and how to have your art be successful and inspired. This was truly an energizing and revitalizing experience for students.
Thank you to all the artists who participated: Beth Nybeck, John Sutton, Cheryl Eve, Alexander Austin, Patricia McManus, Cory Imig and Nick Naughton.
Health Sciences Accelerated Academy 2011
In the Health Sciences Academy, students completed their clinical placement at The Villages of Jackson Creek where their supervisor Chris Frerking said, “These are the best-prepared students we've ever had, even though they are significantly younger than most students that come here. When they started they were cautious and unsure of themselves but I’ve watched them grow into confident students who have a great connection with our residents. I would definitely be willing to work with them!”
To learn more, watch a Northeast High School student describe his experience in this video clip from Fox 4 News!
Health Sciences Career Fair 10-4-11
On Tuesday, October 4, 120 students from KCKPS & KCMSD attended a health careers fair organized by the KC Area Health Care Recruiters group and supported by MCC Penn Valley Health Sciences Institute. Students participated in hands-on activities put on by area hospitals to learn about the multitude of healthcare professions ranging from surgery, life sciences, CSI, and more! As the culminating experiences students were able to get an in depth tour of the Health Sciences Institute and talked with many of their professors. They watched Institute students practicing surgeries on life-like practice dummies, learned about the sterilization ofmedical tools, and talked about the different career possibilities within the Health Sciences.
Thank you to the following organizations for their support in creating exciting experiences to inspire our students!
St. Luke’s Hospital
Truman Medical Center
Children's Mercy Hospital
Olathe Medical Center
Providence Medical Center
MCC Penn Valley Health Sciences Institute
Shawnee Mission Medical Center
University of Kansas
Health Sciences Day
On April 26, 2011, a small group of students from East High School attended a Health Sciences Day at UMKC’s School of Medicine. This trip was a special treat for students as they were able to walk through the Youngblood Simulated Lab, the Laboratory Services Department and the Medical Education Media Center. In each area, students learned about the exciting research that is happening at the School of Medicine and were able to experience, first-hand, the very work that medical students are exposed to when going through the six-year program. In the lab, the students were able to work through a simulation of a man going into cardiac arrest. They performed CPR, administered drugs, monitored his heart rate and they even were able to use the defibrillator on the patient. In the Laboratory Services they learned all about the groundbreaking research that is going on at UMKC that medical students are able to work on daily. Finally they learned about the many different areas of focus that students study when they were in the Medical Education Media Center.
Hope Windmiller at Washington
On Oct. 15, Hope Windmiller spoke to about 40 female students at Washington High School. Her message was about first impressions and how taking the time to get to know a person can not only change your life but theirs as well. She spoke about her childhood, her career, her family and answered several personal questions from the students. The students were very moved by her presentation and asked her to come back to speak again and answer some deeper questions they had.
Northeast Career Jumping
45 students at Northeast High School's Business and Technology Career Academy took a huge step forward in their career exploration thanks to an ongoing partnership between PREP-KC and the Kansas City Missouri School District and thanks to the support of diverse group of professionals. To support these students, 16 professionals from a variety of backgrounds took time out of their busy day to participate in a Career Jumping event. Students were focused, engaged and inquisitive and absolutely made the most of the opportunity. Not to be outdone, our professionals generously shared the stories of their professional lives, answered questions and even turned the tables on the students by asking them what they want out of life. All in all it was an amazing event that helped shape the lives of many students. Thank you to everyone who participated!
School of Engineering Day at UMKC
On November 19th, 60 students from Harmon, Schlagle and Wyandotte high schools visited UMKC for a full day of diving into engineering.
Students first entered the Power Lab where Professor Mike Kelly spoke about what a power engineer does, how electricity really works and how to generate electricity. Students also learned a good deal about renewable power and why it is so important now and for our future. They also got to watch a lot of Professor Kelly's "toys" in action.
They then rotated through a lab in computer animation and discussions with the baja buggy and robotics teams. Students learned from Professor Mike Hieber how to animate a cartoon on the computer. Students were quite surprised that in less than 25 minutes they were animating their own cartoon and manipulating it to do what they wanted.
UMKC students from the Baja and Robotics Teams provided students with information on their extracurricular activities, the importance of joining organizations and most importantly, how it can positively impact a student's college experience.
Finally, students had a blast in Professor Bob Riggs physics lab where they learned about forces, currents and magnetic fields and were truly blown away when a ping pong ball was shot out of a pvc cannon at supersonic speed.
This was truly an exciting, energizing, educational day that transformed students. They walked away looking at the world around them with a new and different perspective. They were on a college campus, with college students, learning from college professors and had fun with science.
Thank you all at UMKC for working with PREP-KC to offer this incredible opportunity to students.
Spring 2011 Job Shadow Experiences
This spring, students from the Kansas City, Missouri School District and Kansas City Kansas Public Schools visited businesses and professionals of all kinds throughout the metro learn about their specialties and what it takes to follow their career paths.
The Women's Foundation Visits Central High School
May 19, 2011 was a life changing day for many young women at Central High School thanks to a partnership with PREP-KC and the Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Part of the mission of the Women’s Foundation is to inspire and encourage the future generation of female professionals. Fifteen female professionals, almost all members of the Women’s Foundation, took time out of their morning to participate in a Career Jumping Event for young women who were a part of their Math Achievers Program at Central High School.
UMKC Arts Department Day
This November, PREP-KC completed another trip to UMKC's Art Department for Harmon High School sophomores in the Visual Arts Small Learning Community.
This is the fourth trip in two years that PREP-KC has arranged for students in both districts. Once again, the staff, students and faculty in the department made students feel comfortable and at home in their building and classrooms. Students walked through Printmaking with Lecturer Grant Miller, 2D Design with Assistant Professor Davin Watne, Drawing class with Assistant Professor Ricky Allman and Multimedia with Associate Professor Barry Anderson. After the tour, they spent time with Associate Professor Elijah Gowin where they all participated in creating their own photogram with Prof. Gowin and his graduate teaching assistants, Sara Robbins and Sharon Reeber.
All of this was led by Associate Professor and Department Chair, Kati Toivanen, starting with a discussion in the Art Gallery and an exploration of the work exhibited. Students were also treated to a campus tour by the Admission Department.
This tour is always so exciting because not only are they having conversations and spending time with the department professors, but they are also observing and speaking with students in the department. They genuinely get a sense of what it means to go to college and study art from what kinds of courses they would take, to the equipment they would use to the to the types of people they would be working with on a daily basis. This is truly a transformative and eye opening experience.
Thank you to the UMKC staff for continuing to support the work of PREP-KC and the students and schools who we work with.
Wyandotte Students at Loose Park and Antioch Park
17 9th grade students from the Wyandotte High School's Global Engineering and Technology SLC spent part of a beautiful fall day Loose Park and Antioch Park learning about conservation and careers. The students, from Dr. Hotz's and Ms. Hornberger's classes, compared Big 11 Lake in Kansas City, Kansas, with other similarly sized urban lakes in the metro area. After the students took some measurements of the Loose Park pond to compare it to their project at Big 11 Lake (and did a little geocaching), they discussed careers with Judy Penner from the KCMO Parks and Recreation Department and Brent Kramer from Blue Valley Laboratories. Ms. Penner and Mr. Krammer shared stories about their career pathways and how they got to where they are today . After a great Q&A session about parks maintenance careers and the science behind water testing, it was off to Antioch Park. There, Bill Maasen of the Johnson County Park & Recreation District talked about his job as Parks Superintendent and gave the students some great tips on a variety of ways to get their careers started. Thanks to everyone who made this day possible!
