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Date: February 5, 2008
ARDEC signs partnering agreements with Alaska, New Jersey school districts
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PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. — Officials here signed six educational partnership pacts Monday during a brief ceremony in which school administrators from several New Jersey school districts and Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen took part.
Picatinny Commanding General Brig. Gen. William N. Phillips and Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center Director Dr. Joseph A. Lannon signed separate new agreements with the Juneau and Anchorage, Alaska, and North Bergen school districts
They also renewed existing agreements with the Morris Regional, Jefferson Township and Rockaway Township districts.
Representatives from the Jefferson Township, Rockaway Township, Morris Regional and North Bergen school districts participated in the ceremony.
Installation and school officials from both states hope the agreements will increase student interest in math and science careers.
In addition, Lannon added his signature to agreements previously signed by Juneau School District Superintendent Peggy Cowan Jan. 28 and Anchorage School District Superintendent Carol Comeau Jan. 30.
In the near future, a partnership agreement also will be signed with the Fairbanks, Alaska school district, Picatinny officials said.
The educational agreements will help the districts use a science education program called Materials World Modules, according to Ed Petersen, education director for Science Technology Engineering and Math Education project office here.
The modules, which were created at Northwestern University under a grant from the National Science Foundation, contain hands-on science activities that help students recognize engineering problems and develop their own solutions.
Teachers can choose from nine modules, including ceramics, bio-degradable materials and composites.
Petersen said the most popular is the sports module. In this module, students can participate in projects such as designing a fishing pole that must be strong enough to hold the fish, but flexible enough to bend.
Besides making the modules available, ARDEC employees will also train teachers and provide volunteer engineer and scientist support in classrooms.
Petersen said that ARDEC engineers help as a resource to the teachers, either by phone or by Internet.
"If a student has a particular question that is beyond the teacher’s expertise, they can run it by one of our engineers here," he said.
The objectives of the MWM program are to increase scientific literacy, improve inquiry and problem-solving skills, provide opportunities to apply science and math concepts to real-world experiences and inspire the pursuit of math, science and engineering careers.
Petersen said the agreement is an opportunity for ARDEC engineers to serve as role models for students.
"By using our scientists and engineers as role models, we hope to show the students that engineering is an interesting career, a career that they can get into," he said.
The Department of Defense-sponsored program came about because not enough American students are entering math and science careers, Petersen said.
"We’re at great risk of losing our technological superiority in the world, particularly to countries like China and India where they are producing many more qualified scientists and engineers than we are," he said.
Petersen said Department of Defense officials were particularly interested in this program because they want to maintain the quality engineers needed to sustain their laboratories.
During the signing ceremony, Phillips, Lannon and Frelinghuysen also reiterated the importance of science programs to the nation.
"The backbone of our economy is science and engineering," Lannon said.
Frelinghuysen said he was highly appreciative of the Picatinny program, but said he would like to see the program expanded and to see even more interconnectivity between Picatinny and the surrounding communities.
"We need to put a more human face on math and science," he said.
Agreements between ARDEC and several New Jersey school districts including Denville, Hackettstown, North Brunswick, Wharton and Sacred Heart School in Dover already exist, Petersen said.
Prior to the signing, there was a discussion of Picatinny support to New Jersey public schools.
Frelinghuysen, private industry leaders and representatives from the Liberty Science Center attended the discussion as well.
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