Thirty-six county elementary teachers again will be able to broaden their knowledge of science through a $65,000 grant received by Harford Community College.
The college received an Eisenhower Science Education Grant in 1993 but narrowly missed receiving the money last year.
"We were bridesmaids. We came in 11 out of 10 schools chosen," said HCC biology Professor Floyd Grimm, who was awarded the grant this year by the Maryland Higher Education Commission with HCC physics Professor Salvatore Rodano.
The college received the grant this year for its Bay Area Science Enhancement program. It was announced Monday during a joint meeting of the college's board of trustees and the Harford County school board.
The money, plus an additional $8,200 from the college and $11,500 from the public school system, will go toward a three-week summer science workshop for first-grade, second-grade and primary special education teachers to be taught by college faculty, said Dr. Diane Troyer, college vice president of academic and student affairs.
Classes and field trips financed by the grant money will target 12 county elementary schools with high minority populations, Dr. Troyer said.
The schools have not been identified. But program officials expect that a team of three teachers will be chosen from each school, Mr. Grimm said.
In addition to the workshop, several programs for teachers will be held during the school year. "The goal is to make them feel comfortable with science . . . so they can pass on the excitement of science to their students," Mr. Grimm said.
The field trips will include a trip to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where teachers will learn how to work with students with disabilities. For instance, they will learn how to teach a blind student how to measure, Mr. Grimm said.
Two years ago, the college's grant program was geared toward third- , fourth- and fifth-grade teachers. "By the end of the grant, there will be one teacher who has gone through the program in each grade level," Mr. Grimm said.
The Eisenhower grant was one of several partnerships discussed at a dinner meeting held in the Edgewood Hall Apprenticeship Training Center, the college's newest classroom
facility. Board members also reviewed continuing and prospective joint programs, including the proposal for a Harford Technical High School theater-auditorium that would be shared with the college.
"It is an opportunity to blend and draw an even stronger relationship with that campus," said W. Stephen Pannill, HCC's acting president. The project is in the talking stages, he said.
"We really need something like that," said college trustee Nicholas L. Gounaris. "It will focus the attention of the community on the cultural arts center, and show what the community college and school system can do as a team."
Mr. Pannill said the college would like to become more of a presence in the Route 40 area. "We will be extending activities at Joppatowne High School and other points along the Route 40 corridor," he said.
Dr. Troyer said the college is focusing on dual enrollments, so qualified high school students can enroll in the community college. "We're exploring the idea of bringing some courses onto high school sites," she said.
Dr. James F. LaCalle, dean of community and business services, gave the board members a tour of Edgewood Hall between servings of prime rib and cheesecake in the domed-ceiling lecture hall.
"This building has been such a morale booster," Dr. LaCalle said, as he led the group through two floors of offices and classrooms. "I think it will be a great landmark for Harford Community College."
The 25,000-square-foot, $3.5 million building also represents a college partnership effort, Dr. LaCalle said. In addition to the college's noncredit-course offices, it houses the Harford County Sheriff's Academy and the Harford County Electrical Contractors Association, which use the facility during the day.
The 10 classrooms revert to college use in the evening, Dr. LaCalle said.
Six offices on the second floor are available for use free by community groups.
"It's what we're about now, working together in partnership," Mr. Pannill said.