The Juniata College Science in Motion program was recently recognized as one of eight national winners of the Council of State Governments (CSG) 2003 Innovations Award, but the program has not been funded in the 2003-04 state budget.
\nSenator Robert Jubelirer and Representative Larry Sather spoke at a joint press conference last week to reinforce the need for funding for the program.
\n\u201cFunding for this outstanding program has yet to be appropriated in the 2003-04 state budget negotiations,\u201d said Sather. \u201cWe are appealing to the General Assembly and to the Administration to see the value of these academic partnerships which certainly warrant the state\u2019s financial support.\u201d
\nJuniata College, located in Huntingdon, initiated the program in 1998 and since then Cedar Crest College, Clarion University, Drexel University, Gannon University, Gettysburg College, Susquehanna University, Pitt-Bradford, Ursinus College, Westminster College and Wilkes University have joined as higher education partners.
\n\u201cThe program has been the model for similar programs in other states because of its sustained success,\u201d said Jubelirer. \u201cIt has earned national recognition not only for the strong science support given to schools, but for its cost-effective delivery and its importance in supporting workforce development through student training in laboratory sciences and technology.\u201d
\nOne of the schools that participates in the Juniata College Science in Motion program is the Tyrone High School.
\n\u201cWe use these labs for the students and the program also provides training for teachers in the summer,\u201d said Mark Nale, a science teacher at Tyrone High School. \u201cWe have Kathy Holsinger, Dan Albright, and Beth Cannistraci use the program in the science department, the health tech program uses it and Chris Carney and the ag department also use it. The program was an efficient use of dollars.\u201d
\nWith the program not being funded as of yet, teachers are scrambling to find lesson plans for their students.
\n\u201cI had a DNA lab scheduled for this week,\u201d said Tyrone science teacher Kathy Holsinger. \u201cWe order things a year in advance and the equipment that we use for these labs that is provided through Science in Motion isn\u2019t feasible for individual high schools to purchase the equipment necessary for these labs. My hands are tied right now without the program.\u201d
\nThe program saves the commonwealth money in the long run.
\n\u201cIf you look at it, the program serves 26 different school districts with equipment for labs,\u201d said Nale. \u201cIf the 26 school districts bought the equipment themselves, it would cost 26 times what it costs this project. It helps teachers and students in the different districts use the same equipment and learn the same lessons.\u201d
\nOne lab that Science in Motion uses was partially designed by Nale.
\n\u201cThe pellets lab for Outdoor Biology I helped design,\u201d said Nale. \u201cThe program is not only a valuable tool for the students, but is also challenging and a great learning instrument for the teachers.\u201d
\nRecently the program was selected as one of two Northeast regional CSG Innovations Award winners. A total of eight programs were selected for the CSG\u2019s national awards for 2003. All eight programs will be honored at a ceremony in Pittsburgh on October 23.
\nJubelirer and Sather were joined at the press conference by Dr. Lorraine Mulfinger, the director of science outreach at Juniata College.
\n\u201cScience in Motion vans based at the participating colleges visit schools in their regions and bring into the classroom the kind of science education never thought possible on local school budgets,\u201d said Mulfinger. \u201cAnd each summer, teachers look forward to professional development opportunities in the advanced science laboratories of the higher education partners.\u201d
\nSather and Jubelirer agreed that continued funding for the program is an investment in the future of Pennsylvania.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s fair to say that this program has developed into an incredible asset in Pennsylvania\u2019s quest to become a national leader in the high-tech and life sciences industries,\u201d said Jubelirer. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to let that slip away.\u201d
\nYou can find out more about the Science in Motion program by logging on to www.scienceinmotion.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Juniata College Science in Motion program was recently recognized as one of eight national winners of the Council of State Governments (CSG) 2003 Innovations Award, but the program has not been funded in the 2003-04 state budget. Senator Robert Jubelirer and Representative Larry Sather spoke at a joint press conference last week to reinforce […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}