Number 4 - ExxonMobil in the UK

A real joy
Participants are selected from
schools in major population
centers where ExxonMobil has
a business presence and from
areas near where Mickelson
competes in Professional Golf
Association tournaments.
Schools in a wide geographical
range from Anchorage, Alaska,
to Miami, Florida, have been represented
thus far.
For 2009, the process was
further expanded nationwide via
the new sendmyteacher.com
Web site. Students, parents,
fellow teachers and others nominated
educators to attend, and
the response was overwhelming.
Enrollment from the Web site
was set at 100, with nominations
closing this past October.
When educators return to the
classroom, the tools and techniques
they’ve learned at the
academy are passed along.
“Teachers bring back their own
personal growth and insight,”
says Dr. Ramona Chang, director
of curriculum for the Torrance
United School District in California.
“They share that enthusiasm with
their colleagues, so the influence
spreads. For me, professionally,
that has been a real joy to see.”
The activity in Torrance is part
of a national emphasis within the
United States to promote Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math
– what educators refer to as the
STEM curriculum.
The STEM program received
a bipartisan boost when the U.S.
Congress passed the America
COMPETES Act of 2007. Dr.
Chang was one of several who
testified before the Committee
on Education and Labor this
summer to report the progress
in her district.
“We are beginning to see a
change in the classroom,” Chang
says. “Our students participate
in conversations differently now
when they talk about math and
science.”
Launched in 2005, the academy has trained more than 1,400 teachers
at week-long classes in Texas, Louisiana, Virginia and New Jersey.
Professional golfer Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy, believe
that math and science are building blocks for achievement.
Fortune 500 treatment
Most teachers who attend say
the success of the academy is
due to the quality of the instructors.
Chang agrees, but she also
credits the way it is run.
“From the moment you walk
in, you’re treated as though you
work for a Fortune 500 company,”
Chang says. “The organizers
make sure your accommodations
are attended to, all meals
are provided and every comfort is
anticipated. The outside distractions
found at other conferences
have been eliminated, so that
all the teacher has to do is stay
focused and participate.”
When teachers walk away,
many say that what they have
learned and the connections
they’ve made have changed
them as professionals – and
that, says ExxonMobil’s Bell,
is the goal of the academy.
Academy graduates are
encouraged to keep in touch
and share ideas. In Chang’s
district, an original group of nine
elementary school teachers who
attended the first academy has
grown to a committee of more
than 30. They represent a span
from kindergarten through high
school calculus.
“One change that soon surfaced
from our communications
with each other
was the realization
that we
needed to focus
more on preparing all of our students
to be proficient in algebra
by the time they complete the
eighth grade,” Chang says.
“The basis for that ability
needs to start in kindergarten,”
adds Chang. “The greater strides
will come as our youngest ones
who started a couple of years
ago advance into middle school,
but we are already seeing an
encouraging change.” the Lamp
To learn more
exxonmobil.com/
mathandscience
22 22