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Volume 4, Number 4,
November 1999
MIDNIGHT
SUN ONLINE
-The Online Newsletter for
Robert E. Peary High School Alumni-
MSO WEB SITE - http://www.pearyhs.org
INTRODUCTION
Greetings Huskies:
CONGRATULATIONS: Eileen Manspeaker Steinkraus, Blair High School Math and Science Magnet Program's coordinator, where six of the program's seniors were recognized! The following was published in the Washington Post Magazine Sunday, November 14, 1999:
Guiding the Gifted Student: Peter Perl interviews the head of Montgomery County's math and science high school magnet program
Montgomery Blair High School scaled a remarkable academic height this past school year when six of its seniors were named among the 40 finalists in the nationwide Intel Science Talent Search (formerly the Westinghouse), the oldest and most prestigious competition of its kind. This was just the latest in a long string of achievements by students in Blair's science-math-computer science magnet program.
Since its creation in 1985, to promote desegregation at the 2,500- student school in Silver Spring, the magnet has sent more than 1,000 graduates on to the nation's top universities and has enhanced Blair's reputation as one of the most dynamic schools in the state. Eileen Steinkraus, a former earth science teacher, is coordinator of the magnet, which includes 400 students and 18 faculty. She sat down with Magazine staff writer Peter Perl recently to discuss the successes and challenges of programs for the gifted and talented.
Q: Just how smart are these kids? How selective is the magnet? A: Last year we had 800 applicants for the 100 positions, so it is highly competitive. We have worked with other magnet programs and we have devised a test with mathematical reasoning, verbal reasoning and also critical thinking. We also ask them for a motivation statement, because one of the things we find is that it is not just ability, but the internal motivation really has to be there.
Q: What is the dropout rate? A: It is very little. Usually, it is when a parent is transferred and a student has to move. Occasionally, we have a student who decides it is not for him, but not often.
Q: Can you give a couple of examples of magnet courses that are beyond normal high school courses? A: We offer a second year of calculus, complex variables, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, software design, modeling and simulation graphics. And genetics, cell physiology, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics. It's quite a bit . . . By their senior year, they are working on a major research project. They often work with a teacher-adviser and a mentor, an outside mentor. Actually, students are working, I think, at 18 different places this year: National Institutes of Health, University of Maryland, Army Research Lab, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Agriculture, the National Zoo, all over.
Q: If a kid may be a genius in math or science, how do you motivate them to make them well-rounded students? How do you prevent the program from just turning out geeks and nerds? A: That is really important to us. We do some activities. We take students on field experiences, we take a trip to Virginia in 10th grade where they stay for three days to apply their marine biology and physics to the environment, but they are also away from home and get a kind of bonding experience with others and learn to interact. We do a great deal of teamwork and team projects where the students have to relate together. We want to develop some self-awareness and communication skills.
Q: How do you accomplish that? A: One of the reasons we are so successful in Westinghouse and Intel is that we continually have students present to the class and to other students, to learn how important communication is. We talk about how you may make a great discovery, but if you can't communicate it so someone else understands it, it's not going to go anywhere. We encourage that also because they are with other [non-magnet] kids at Blair to relate to, in their PE class, and history, and English. And our kids are involved in a lot of school activities, clubs and teams.
Q: How do you select teachers for this program? A: We try to stay on the cutting edge of computer science and technology, which is difficult because things change so fast. And we try to find teachers who . . . appreciate that they are going to be learning along with the students and they are not intimidated by that. If you are keeping on the cutting edge, you are not always going to know what the answers are. It is a challenge at times, particularly in computer science, to find people who are trained at the level we need, because they certainly can make a lot more money somewhere else. For a couple years, we had former magnet students who had graduated from college and were in a hiatus, before graduate school, and they taught here in computer science because we could not find people that were available. The biggest challenge is to find the knowledge level, combined with the philosophy that we teach.
Q: In selecting the students, what is the breakdown in race, ethnicity and gender? A: Our effort is supposed to bring majority students into the school. But if we find in the testing and screening process very talented minority students, certainly they are welcome and they are invited to come. The breakdown is about 60 percent white, 30 percent Asian, 10 percent Hispanic and African American. For gender, one of the things we find, and this is a nationwide problem, is that girls do not go on to higher-level physics and math, and particularly computer science. So we make an effort to recruit girls. We now have about 40 percent females. We actually have a 50 percent female applicant rate, but we don't accept as many.
Q: Are there too many demands on some of these kids? Too much pressure? A: We have a lot of parent meetings and I talk to a lot of students, and we tell them, particularly juniors and seniors, "Don't take all AP and magnet courses. Enjoy your high school." But it is not us putting on the pressure. Part of why they are successful is that they have that level of motivation. Sometimes the parents say to me, "We don't know where it comes from. We don't care if they get B's." But there is some innate motivation there. Sometimes we will have parents who are very strict and they want all A's, and we work with the parents and say that is not necessary. But most of the pressure, if it is not parental-induced, is from their own sense of competition, and competing against themselves, being the best they can be.
Q: How do you measure the success of the program? A: Before the magnet, there was middle-class flight of all races from Blair, parents, African American and white, who felt the school was not doing enough for their students. And that has definitely stopped. People want to come here. They want their students to be here, whether in the magnet or not.
Q: What is biggest problem confronting the magnet? A: I worry about whether we are continuing to do the best for our students. Is there more we can do to help them become better people? Total people, rather than just their student parts. If we want to promote the concept that learning is a lifelong process, then we need to model that for our students.
Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
[Wonderful to see Peary's former staff and our mentors in the news!]
STAFF/FACULTY NOTE: Student alums, please note that the former faculty members have requested that you do NOT attend their functions unless specifically invited. Previously, student alums had an open-invitation to attend their get-togethers; however, some former staff members are not comfortable with this. Thus, we have agreed to respect the wishes of our mentors/role models until further notice by the Staff Alumni.
REMINDER: Victoria Oscar (1985) is on a national tour of Annie (as "Miss Hannigan") which is scheduled to appear at the Warner Theatre in Washington DC November 30 through December 5. The show is also scheduled at the Lyric Theatre in Baltimore in June 2000.
Bob Lau (1976) will appear on the UPN series "The Strip" on Tuesday November 23rd at 9pm/8cst as the neighbor, "Stanley Gibson" in an episode featuring WWF wrestlers titled "We Will Rock You."
REUNIONS: Plans are underway for 2000's reunions for the classes of 63-65 (joint event), 1970, 1975, and 1980. Watch for updates in future newsletters and online in the respective class sections. Check-out the Class of 1970's new website at www.peary70.org maintained by Steve Banks for specific class news and reunion info! Even if your class is not planning an event this year, these classes are actively seeking "missing alumni" and could use your help in locating siblings, friends of friends, etc. — all will help the respective classes. You yourself could be the only link to your "missing" sibling for the classes!
CLASS OF 1974: Still seeking a 1974 Online Coordinator to update information, receive and archive classmate contact info, and (hopefully) update the class's information section online at the MSO site. So, html skills are helpful! (Meredith....????)
MORE THANK-YOUS: To those who have recently provided financial support to the Midnight Sun Online. The MSO relies solely on voluntary alumni contributions to cover its operating expenses. Donation information is posted on the website and online credit card transactions can be performed to save you a stamp/check/envelope.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: Information about association events will be posted and announced as we receive official notice about them. There has been hint of a "homecoming" for all alumni being planned for sometime in June 2000 to be held at our school building (now leased by The Hebrew Academy), but no definite word about the specific dates, activities, or details. Thank you to Michael Deitchman, Class of 1968, for hunting- down and securing the USS Peary (FF1073) ship's bell. The bell will be turned-over to the Alumni Association shortly. Contact Neal Pizzano (1976) at npizzano@erols.com for more information about the association, its purpose/goals, planned events, and the membership dues!
MSO: The deadline for the December issue of the Midnight Sun Online is Saturday December 18th. If you have a news item you'd like to submit or an update on what you've been up to all these years that you'd like to share with classmates, use the Article Submission link on the website! There are now more than 2,400 Peary alumni listed with MSO, and the site has received about 60,000 "hits" since its inception late 1996.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday, Huskies!
Bob Lau, Editor/Webmaster The Midnight Sun Online