SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) SUCCESS STORIES IN THEAEROSPACE VALLEY Introduction For many years, the

Career Prep Council in the Antelope Valley, a local partnership of schools, businesses, and government agencies, has worked regionally to improve career preparation of students from elementary, high school and post secondary schools for the workforce. In January 2002, the Career Prep Council formed a new Math, Science, Engineering, and Technology Consortium (MSET) focused on preparing more students for these related careers. The Consortium has representatives from academia, industry, business, and government, providing a representative cross section of the region. While investigating the shortfall of engineers and skilled technicians in the Aerospace Valley, MSET members learned: Engineers hired from outside the High Desert region did not readily adapt to the desert environment and did not stay Local students that left the area to get an engineering degree seldom returned because they were offered employment in other areas. Local students that did return with an engineering degree provided stability to the workforce.

The Grow Our Own Engineers Movement is Born The answer seemed to be to Grow Our Own Engineers. In order to be successful in that endeavor, programs had to be developed in middle and high schools to provide a pathway for students desiring a technical career to prepare them for college and career. The goal of the MSET Consortium is to facilitate an integrated technical education program where students can explore "technology" as a career and flow freely from elementary and secondary schools through community colleges, higher education and into the workforce. A long term program to "grow our own" engineers and scientists required a fundamental change in how math, science, engineering and technology education was approached. To be successful, county lines and school district boundaries had to be ignored to establish a single goal: to interest K-12 students in math, science and engineering careers and to provide those students with a career path that prepared them for an engineering degree program, whether at the technician or professional level. Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a national not-for-profit organization established to make middle and high school students more aware of the role engineers play in the workforce and the academic requirements necessary to qualify for entrance into an undergraduate collegiate program. The high school program is a four year sequence of scholastic courses, in conjunction
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with traditional mathematics and science courses that introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering prior to entering college. With the advocacy of MSET, the Antelope Valley Union High School District launched an effort to develop PLTW at high schools in the district. In addition, Tehachapi and Ridgecrest schools implemented the program. Today there are 11 high schools in the Aerospace Valley offering PLTW. This effort is feeding the pipeline of students interested in engineering careers. Likewise, these activities have stimulated similar efforts to establish the Gateway to Technology PLTW middle school program. There are currently 16 middle schools in the region with Gateway to Technology programs. The Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD) currently houses 6 Career Academies, all of which include some STEM component. Green Enterprise at Antelope Valley High School (AVHS) (PLTW pre-engineering and business), Law and Government at Highland HS (crime scene investigation), Digital Design and Engineering at Knight HS (PLTW preengineering, 3D simulations), Agriculture and Environmental Science at Littlerock HS, and the Health Careers Academy and Falcon Academy of Sustainable Technology (FAST) ) (PLTW preengineering, automotive, construction, 3D simulations) at Palmdale. In addition, STEM career pathways and course are in place at other high schools, including PLTW pre-engineering at Lancaster and Quartz Hill, health science with dental concentration at AVHS, automotive technology at Highland, Littlerock, Quartz Hill and Desert Winds, agriculture science at AVHS and Palmdale, and computer multimedia design at every AVUHSD comprehensive site. Many of the courses in these sequences are articulated with Antelope Valley College, offering successful completers both high school and college credit. At the same time, the East Kern Education Resource Network (EKERN) is a program to foster advancement of K-16 education in East Kern County. EKERN was responsible for bringing the K-16 Bridge Program to the East Kern region. This program provides a Bridge to postsecondary education by involving students and parents in a process that brings relevancy, rigor, and relationships to the educational journey. The goal of the Bridge Program is to create a quality program that uses the latest technology for the preparation and transition of students into a postsecondary world. As of 2011, the following schools in East Kern County were involved with the Bridge Program: Cerro Coso Community College, Mojave and Tehachapi High Schools. Additionally, the Antelope Valley College Board of Trustees has approved the K-16 Program. STEM Education also has community and industry support in the Aerospace Valley. For example: high and middle school teachers, as well as counselors, are provided opportunities to visit local businesses and industries to experience first-hand the potential job opportunities that could be available to their students. The purpose of these visits is to expose our primary and secondary school administrators and instructors to the real world workforce experiences and skills required today and in the future. As summarized by one teacher recently on a tour of the
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Mojave Air and Space Port, I learned so much today I am going home and change my lesson plan for tomorrow. An essential element to improving the transition from high school to the AVC pre-engineering program was a closer partnership between the schools to provide easy transitions into the college program and, where possible, allow high school students to concurrently enroll in lower division college classes. AVC and AVUHSD collaborated closely to establish an Early College High School program, SOAR High School (Students On Academic Rise) to introduce high school students to college programs while they are still in high school. This program, which opened in 2005-2006 school year, emphasizes math, science, and pre-engineering. Students on Academic Rise (SOAR) High School was named one of Californias top 10 schools for two years in a row. Twenty-five percent of the 2013 graduating class received their associates degree from Antelope Valley College along with their high school diploma. SOAR has three students who have received full-ride QuestBridge scholarships SOAR High School incorporates a STEM focus, while SOAR Prep Academy, a middle school within the Academies of the Antelope Valley (AAV) charter, delivers Gateway to Technology modules including Design and Modeling, Automation and Robotics, Energy and the Environment, and Science of Technology, leading to the PLTW pre-engineering pathways in the high schools. STEM courses such as Body Systems and Disorders are also offered through the Virtual Academy segment of the AAV, as part of an expending medical pathway. New Biomedical Sciences pathways from PLTW are being introduced at both Eastside and Littlerock High Schools in the fall of 2013, beginning with the Principals of Biomedical Sciences course. Junior ROTC programs at AV, Highland, Lancaster and Littlerock High Schools also incorporate STEM principals within their curricula. Extracurricular activities to support STEM learning are plentiful; career technical student organizations SkillsUSA, HOSA, and FFA help students to acquire leadership skills acting as chapter and state/national officers, to participate in service learning community projects, and to compete locally and at the state and national levels for awards and scholarships. AVUSHD students have enjoyed great success in their CTSO chapters by winning at all levels, including Palmdale FAST students placing at gold and bronze in the SkillsUSA national Sustainability Solutions event in June 2012 for their Little Green Planet video game design, and automotive and construction students receiving multiple medals at state competitions in 2013. Palmdale Health Careers Academy students once again brought home multiple gold, silver, bronze and national recognition from the Cal-HOSA State Leadership Conference in March 2013. Specific examples of some of the pathways resulting from Project Lead the Way being implemented are: Middle/Secondary School Programs
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The Project Lead the Way Gateway to Technology program has been a great success in the middle schools. For example: 1. Begun in the fall of 2012 as an independent charter school located at the site of the old Cactus School, The Palmdale Aerospace Academy (TPAA) is a joint effort created by the Palmdale School District, the City of Palmdale, and the AERO Institute. These three entities have come together in response to local, state, and national need for workforce development- specifically in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In 2012-2013, its first year of operation, TPAA served 7th through 9th grade students. In each subsequent year, the school will add high school courses to serve the needs of advancing students. Thus in 2013-2014, a sophomore class will be added, and in 20142015 a junior class. In 2015-16, the Academy will graduate its first class of seniors, ready to take on new challenges in college, military service or in an increasingly technical workplace. The academy has 530 students enrolled, all of whom are in a STEM career pathway, and receiving instruction that will compliment their development of fluency in 21st Century Workforce Skills as outlined by Dr. Tony Wagner and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P-21). The philosophy of TPAA is, "The Palmdale community has the responsibility to educate and prepare its youth for the future. This includes improving opportunities for todays youth to design, to create, and to explore new ideas. It is best satisfied by providing an institution which will hone the natural, maturing skills of todays youth for tomorrows future. Through a collaborative of industry, education, and community, the academy will prepare students as lifelong learners, well rounded and able to meet the challenges that will come their way. The goal of this collaborative is workforce development- that every student graduates from TPAA college and career ready. Lancaster School District introduced the PLTW Gateway to Technology (GTT) middle school curriculum in September of 2011. This program was received with enthusiasm and excitement by teachers and students alike beginning with STEM Academies at Discovery School and Endeavour Middle School; in the fall of 2012, the GTT offerings expanded to every middle school in the Lancaster District. 2. Discovery School, a K-8 public school in the Lancaster School District, has a dual focus on STEM education and creating a college-going culture. Students in kindergarten through fifth grades use either the Engineering is Elementary or a LEGO curriculum to understand engineering principals, and the sixth through eighth graders in the STEM Academy study the Gateway to Technology (GTT) curriculum and take an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) elective.
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An important focus at Discovery is rooting learning in real-world applications. In the academy, students design three-dimensional figures on laptop computers using advanced software, build and program robots, and study rocketry, among several other areas of study. In a fourth grade project, students created a model of a sheep watering trough that sounded an alarm and lit a bulb when water got low. The trough was on a lever that raised when there was little water left, completing an electrical circuit. Learning is also brought into real world context through guest speakers, who have described their cutting edge work. For example, David McBride, director of the NASA Dryden Flight Test Center, talked about NASAs exciting future in a post-shuttle era. Walt Waltosz, CEO of Simulations Plus, described how his company uses computer modeling to improve medicines. Dr. Manfred Glugla, director of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, spoke with eighth graders about the promise of nuclear fusion via FaceTime from his home in France, and via Skype, an engineer spoke with sixth graders from inside a wind turbine high above the Kansas plains. Students at Discovery School from first through eighth grades have visited colleges including Pepperdine, Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly Pomona, Occidental, and USC, to learn what a campus looks like and why they might want to study at these campuses. After school programs have included robotics competition, tutoring, and Science Olympiad. Mr. Joel Beckmann, National Defense Education Program, reflected on a visit he had at Discovery School in March 2013: This morning I was at Discovery School in Lancaster and spent some time talking to Ms Nancy Maltby, a 5th grade teacher there. She has approximately 30 students in her class; of those 30 students 28 have told her that they intend to have a career in engineering or science when they grow up. This is an amazing number considering how just a few years ago, many students at that grade level weren't even aware that such a thing as engineering existed. Ms Maltby also said that support by the parents of these students (mostly Hispanic) is strongly in favor of their children attending college. This observation is an indication of a reversal of what we heard 3-4 years ago that Hispanic parents were not very supportive of college education for their children. What is more amazing is that these students don't get exposed to Gateway to Technology until 6th grade. Therefore, this reversal of trends is happening primarily from a heavier emphasis on STEM in the early grades. This was a very inspiring morning. STEM/PLTW programs are growing rapidly within the Westside Union School District. Dedicated teachers, administrators, parents and other volunteers have helped to develop the program and are still enhancing the enriched curriculum offered at several of Westsides school sites.
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3. Joe Walker Middle School is an extremely active participant in the STEM/PLTW programs. In the 2012-2013, the school had 456 students participating in one or more PLTW/GTT course offerings. This number of students is approximately half of the entire Joe Walker student population. Joe Walker offers a VEX robotics team which is supervised by the Automation and Robotics teacher, and which was offered an opportunity to compete at the world championship in Anaheim in 2012. The school is also in the process of building a PLTW design lab and renovating one of two PLTW classrooms. Mr. Anderson, the lead PLTW teacher, was invited to be an Apprentice Master Teacher in 2013. The site is currently investigating a biomedical and an environmental engineering strand to be offered to the students as well. The principal, Christine Fitzgerald, is exploring the idea for Joe Walker to become a PLTW demonstration school. 4. Hillview Middle School is energetic with their STEM/PLTW programs as well. The school has three LEGO robotics teams that are participating in the F.I.R.S.T. LEGO League. The sites 6th grade Honors Academy has a quarterly rotation of exploratory electives that include LEGO Robotics, Green City Challenge, PLTW, and Engineering Applications and Principles. Both Joe Walker and Hillview participated in the Aerospace Valleys 1st Regional Science Olympiad on Saturday, March 16th,2013. Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi also started the Gateway to Technology program beginning in 2011, supplemented by an after-school program, robotics and RC aircraft activities, among others High School Programs 1. The Digital Design and Engineering Academy at Knight High School in east Palmdale is a hybrid program combining engineering pathway students with multimedia pathway students in a team setting to accomplish common projects and goals. Students have worked on projects including model solar homes, energy efficiency demonstrations, alternative rocket fuels, and miniature wind turbines. The CTE projects have been incorporated into core classes for writing, mathematics, and historical significance. They have also been coupled with field trips to solar PV fields, wind farms, power plants, and environmentally sensitive areas. The program is in the process of organizing a chapter of a Career-Technical Student Organization known as SkillsUSA for the 2013-2014 school year, however the program has been strong in associated clubs up to this point. Knight students won the Northrop Grumman-sponsored High School Innovation Challenge in March 2013, which required student teams to program a VEX robot to autonomously avoid, track, and rendezvous through an unknown obstacle
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course. The students also compete in the Ion mini-urban challenge with LEGO NXT robotics, compete in a national rocketry competition, and are working with the Society of Experimental Test Pilots to develop a flight simulator/mentor guided flight training program. Students also run their own business employing a CNC laser cutter/engraver and 3D printer, as well as participate in many local internships with cities and industry. A primary reason that this is possible is due to the high level of local support that Knight received from many contributing partners. The most engaged of these partners includes the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, NASA, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. DD&E students represent about 10% of the total KHS population, however they accounted for almost 50% of those graduating with a grade point average of 4.0 or higher. Confirmed post-secondary transitions for DD&E graduates in 2012 were over 90%. College acceptances included 7 UCs, 12 CSUs and many private and out of state schools as well as community colleges and technical programs. Knight High School ranked number one in the AVUHSD in the percentage of 12th graders who took and passed the AP exam in 2012. Knight students also participated in a state video contest entitled Directing Change and won Second place in their Southern California region. 2. Lancaster High School offers a Project Lead the Way pre-engineering pathway to its 9th through 12th grade students, including a sequence of Introduction to Engineering Design, Digital Electronics, Principles of Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering. Students learn and utilize the Autodesk Inventor software, in which they can receive an industry certification upon successfully passing an Autodesk exam offered at an AVUHSD certified testing center. As part of the courses, students design and complete projects such as puzzle cubes, mousetrap cars, digital circuits, Rube Goldberg projects, and marble sorters, among many others. The program also utilizes state-of-the art engineering tools, including a 3d printer. Approximately 70% of the students graduating from the pathway in 2011-2012 continued on to related education or training. A number of the pre-engineering students are members of Lancaster High Schools FIRST Robotics team, Eagle Robotics Team 399. In 2013, the Eagle Robotics Team won the Engineering Inspiration award for the fourth time; this award is the secondhighest award of those presented by the FIRST International Competition. Several students have also participated in the High School Innovation Challenge (where they won second place), sponsored by Northrop Grumman at Knight High School, as well as the 2013 Aerospace Valley Science Olympiad held at Antelope Valley College.
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For the tenth year in a row the Lancaster High JROTC unit received the Distinguished Unit Award with Merit, the highest award a unit can receive. 3. Quartz Hill High Schools PLTW pre-engineering pathway includes hands-on classes where students are challenged both intellectually and creatively. For example, in Introduction to Engineering Design students build projects such as small cable cars and wood puzzles and invent new products such as new types of disposable cups by using Inventor C program on the computer as well as taking apart and reverse engineering an Automoblox and making improvements on the car. Students are constantly challenged to use what they learn, and apply those skills and knowledge to make something better. They learn how engineers work and what is involved in their jobs. The sequence also includes Digital Electronics, Principals of Engineering, and adding Civil Engineering & Architecture in the 2013-2014 school year. The Quartz Hill High School STEM team won second place for total wins in the Lockheed Martin sponsored 2013 Aerospace Valley Science Olympiad. They won first place in bridge design, second place in sustainable design, third place in tower building, and third place in Egg-O-naut. Many of these students are involved in the Robotics club on campus. The robotics team won the Team Inspirational Award at the 2012-2013 regional qualifier and Second place at the FTC Los Angeles Regional Competition. Similar to other pathways in the AV, employees from Lockheed Martin, Edwards Air Force Base and other industries come out to speak with the students and sometimes provide funding support for activities. 4. Littlerock High School is home to the Agriculture and Environmental Science Academy. The Littlerock FFA Chapter won First Place in the Horticulture competition and Third Place in individual judging in 2012-2013, was named a National Chapter, and selected as Southern Californias Outstanding National Chapter. Littlerock students researched and debated the topic of genetically modified foods, as well as doing a community STEM Expo. For two years in a row, Littlerocks API scores for Special Education have increased by 60 plus points. 5. Highland High School offers pre-engineering courses through Project Lead The Way. New to the program this year, Katie Marchionna teaches Principles of Engineering, a course designed to teach essential physics and programming so that students can design and build automated machines for solving design challenges. Each year, students design a material-sorting machine, build the machine, and program it based on their learning. They follow the design process to test and adjust their design for better performance. Returning teacher Perry Self teaches Introduction to Engineering Design, where students learn to create 3D models and create
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their own designs using computer programs such as Autodesk Inventor to design and manufacture devices using the schools 3D printer. Both courses are offered for grades 9-12. Guest speakers from the engineering industry often visit the classes to provide students an opportunity to learn about engineering careers and new technologies. In the 2013-2014 school year, students are organizing a new engineering club to gain more design experience and technical knowledge through team design challenges and visits to local engineering companies. Students in the Highland Tech Dogs engineering club plan on participating in community service activities such as hosting STEM events for elementary students as well as competing in engineering competitions such as Science Olympiad. Mrs. Marchionna will be the clubs advisor and she also supported the Aerospace Valleys Science Olympiad Competition in 2013 as an event judge. The program receives support from Lockheed Martin, NASA, Edward Air Force Base, and Northrop Grumman. Of the seniors graduating from the concentrator/capstone courses (Digital Electronics and Civil Engineering and Architecture) in 2011-2012, 73% scored proficient or above in English on the high school exit exam, and 86% scored proficient or above in math, while 100% received their diplomas. Fifty-one percent (51%) of those went on to post-secondary education or training (33% in related disciplines, 17% in unrelated) within six months of graduation, while 8% were employed in related fields, and 8% were employed in unrelated fields.

In 2011, the AVUHSD and Antelope Valley College spearheaded the development of a ground-breaking course, Senior Mathematics Acceleration and Preparation (SMAP), in which high school seniors receive articulation credit for successfully completing algebra course module, using common software to individually tailor curriculum and assessments. The course, now offered at AV, Littlerock, Palmdale, and Highland, better prepares students to enter college level algebra courses without remediation.

7. Tehachapi High School boasts a program called the Tehachapi High Engineering and Manufacturing Academy (THEMA) and in 2011 introduced the PLTW program. Student interest and engagement in THEMA is high, as evidenced by the following story: Brooke Neufeld joined THEMA in 9th grade because she was good at math and science, but didnt know what she wanted to do with her future. In 11th grade, she
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was in the first PLTW Principles of Engineering class and in the early fall, joined the Robotics Club. Since then, she has immersed herself in electronics and programming, with a goal of Computer or Electrical Engineering as her career choice. She has been accepted to Cal Poly Pomona and is wait-listed for Cal Poly SLO and has been recognized as a FIRST Deans List Finalist (a rare honor that will hopefully result in her being declared an award winner at the Championships in St. Louis). Below is the recommendation for her for the Deans List competition. When Brooke joined FIRST Team 585 in the fall semester of her junior year, she jumped right in and quickly became an invaluable member of the team. A bright student, Brooke learns best by doing and that is what she has done since she joined. Originally interested in electronics and instrumentation, Brooke quickly overtook our long-term programmers and electrical students, incorporating logical flowcharting and industry standardization to the respective disciplines. With her dedication and desire to learn, the 2012 robot evolved from an electrical rats nest to an elegant system of wiring that was easy to understand. She has embraced the teams mission of spreading love for STEM through outreach and coordinated both of our major outreach events for 2013. Her enthusiasm and dedication are infectious and inspiring to students and observers alike - she has an outstanding ability to communicate technical concepts to any level of listener. Brooke is one of those students that we can only wish had joined our team earlier, but has made such great strides and blossomed into such a technically capable future-engineer that we cant really hold it against her. With her originally stated goal of learning instrumentation, Brooke was first assigned to developing a camera system for our 2012 robot that would auto-aim and adjust the speed of the fly-wheel to shoot baskets from anywhere on the field. As she mastered that project, she was looking for more and was soon tasked with implementing CANbus through the Jaguars on that years robot. After discovering communication issues at our first regional, Brooke undertook changing the topology of the CAN system from daisy chain, the as-designed solution of the Jaguars, to a star, where all nodes are parallel. After implementing this change, the system was consistent and reliable and she can explain every nuance of why and how the system functions. Although our 2013 robot requires much less automation, Brooke is developing a low-resolution quadrature encoder to be used on the arm of our manipulator or on locations other than the shafts of the gear boxes. As she works with mentors to complete this project, it is our long term goal to be able to market the encoder, in kit or complete form, to other teams as an additional revenue source for our team. Brooke is invariably present at our outreach events, speaking to young and old about STEM, the robot, the impact of FIRST, whatever the topic is. She is captivating and able to convey technical, complex topics to any audience. As a student who learns best through application, she values the ability to communicate and show how and why things work. Our 2013 Vice President, she coordinated our major outreach events: Super Science Saturday in the fall and the Chili Cook-Off
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and Robot Unveiling in the Spring. In both cases, she arranged for dynamic guest speakers and a variety of activities that attracted a wide range of audience. She has laid the foundation for an FLL team at one of our elementary schools, teaching monthly-skill building classes so that they are ready to compete in the fall. Unfortunately constrained by snow days and a forced week-long closure of our school, Brooke championed completing the robot a week early. Despite holding four different part-time jobs and taking two AP classes, Brooke is omni-present at team functions, jumping in wherever help is needed; encouraging younger students to get their hands dirty; and teaching the lost to do necessary tasks. She takes joy in the building, wiring, and programming of the robot, and true pride in the finished product. Her investment in the robot itself, FIRST Team 585, and our community is only paralleled by her ability to capitalize on the opportunities presented to her through our program. In just two years, Brooke has grown from a novice to a technically proficient future engineer partly because of FIRST Team 585, but more so because of her character and commitment to learning by doing. The Robotics program at Desert Sands Charter High School is designed to foster interest in science and technology. Students learn about the various systems that their robot will utilize to play a game. In the motion system students will learn about electric motors, gear ratios, speed vs. torque and drive components. Electrical systems and Programming are also covered. Students then collaborate to design, build, test and modify their own robot to play the game against the other teams in the class. As a result, teamwork, sportsmanship and interpersonal skills are also emphasized. Conclusion In summary, the Aerospace Valley is working diligently to meet the needs of our workforce by developing programs in our schools that not only provide career guidance and opportunities for our students, but also provide professional development opportunities for our teachers and counselors. While the hope in the not too distant past was to reach the milestone of 1,000 STEM students in the Aerospace Valley, the current estimate for the 2013/2014 school year is over 9,000 STEM students in the pipeline, with momentum continuing to grow. It is through the close relationship developed among Aerospace Valley educators, business, industry, and government that the groundswell has occurred.

The continuing goal of MSET is to grow our own engineers and educators which should result in better prepared students and thus an increase in the number of students truly college eligible and READY.

Assembled by:
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Bob Johnstone, Chair, Math, Science, Engineering, and Technology Consortium

With assistance by: Diane Walker Coordinator of College and Career Readiness, AVUHSD

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