Urban Schools Initiative is Creating Opportunities for Local Students

In 2007, Science Olympiad piloted the Urban Schools Initiative, a program designed to bring hands-on, inquiry-based science to underserved populations by providing team membership, materials, coach training, team mentoring and support to eligible schools with minority enrollment. Now in its third year, the program will serve more than 650 students and teachers from 21 Chicago Public Schools competing in events like Forensics, Disease Detectives, Elevated Bridge, Compute This, Fossils and Dynamic Planet. The top two middle school and top three high school teams will travel to the Science Olympiad State Tournament at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on April 10, 2010 to compete against 80 teams from around the state and experience an expenses-paid VIP campus tour funded by the University of Illinois.

 

In February 2010, we'll bring back last year's highly popular "Build It Learn It Day", where student participants received one-on-one mentoring from members of the Chicago business community and experienced special training for their events. Educators and professionals from the Shedd Aquarium, the Musuem of Science and Industry, the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum, IBM, the Academy of Model Aeronautics, Navteq and the Latino Tech Association brought hands-on science to life for more than 200 students and their coaches.

A national non-profit founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 science education, creating a technologically-literate workforce, and providing recognition for outstanding student and teacher achievement. These goals are achieved by participating in Science Olympiad tournaments and non-competitive events, incorporating Science Olympiad into classroom curriculum and attending professional development workshops. Science Olympiad has local organizations supporting 5,700 middle and high school teams in 47 states.

At the competitive level, students with a knack for science have a chance to excel both inside and outside the classroom. Secondary school teams advancing to state and national tournaments are celebrated at pep rallies, travel to major universities, make new friends and experience what it’s like to be a star in the community. At the 2009 Science Olympiad National Tournament at Augusta State University, many of the 1,800 participating students received cash scholarships, prizes, trips for students and coaches, medals and trophies.

 

This program has been made possible by a partnership between Chicago Public Schools, Science Olympiad, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Wright College, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce InnovateNow, The College Board, and the Centers for Disease Control. For more information, please contact Jenny Kopach at (630) 792-1251.

 

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