Letters to the Editor
Texas Bioscience Institute official praises Middle College Program
To the Editor:
Bill Maxwell's column in Thursday's KDH regarding "Busting Stem Stereotypes" was interesting and informative.
It also prompted me to remind readers of the significant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) educational effort available in our area through the Middle College Program at The Texas Bioscience Institute (TBI).
Enhanced by activities supported by a National Science Foundation Funded STEP Grant titled "The Central Texas 2-STEP," students from area high schools have the opportunity to follow a STEM-intensive curriculum at the TBI while simultaneously fulfilling high school graduation requirements and earning college credits.
During the current school year, 114 students from 13 different high schools, 72 from KISD schools, and four home-schooled students have taken advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Middle College Program at the TBI and the activities supported by the NSF grant.
About 36 of the current senior-level high school students at the TBI are expected to have completed enough college credits by May that they will receive both their high school diplomas and an associate degree from Temple College. In the previous two years, 52 of the senior-level students earned an AA degree.
A signature activity supported by the NSF-STEP Grant is the opportunity for some of the Middle College students to participate in a full-time, 10-week summer experience as a compensated, working member of a STEM research group. Over the past two summers, 65 students have participated in the summer research activity with research mentors and research teams at Scott & White, the Texas A&M Health Science Center, the Veterans Administration, Texas A&M University-Central Texas and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. In addition, some of the students have been placed with research teams outside of our immediate area.
The STEM education opportunities provided to our area's high school students are indeed significant.
Posted on Saturday, February 04, 2012 by John P. Idoux, Partner-in-Residence, The Texas Bioscience Institute, Principal Investigator, NSF-STEP Grant
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