WSU GEAR UP

The start of this school year the introduction of elective classes to the Finley Middle School schedule, have broadened the opportunities of learning for the students.  Miss. Jackson’s 7th & 8th grade elective class has been provided an introduction to electronics curriculum from LIGO Hanford.  LIGO, who is a partner of the WSU GEAR UP program has kindly donated all the materials needed for the classes, along with electronic ’tool-boxes’ for each student.  The goal of the class is to introduce the use of electronics to the students and the part math & science play in it.  In the classes the students have the opportunity to build their own circuits, ranging from the basic lighting up a LED light to building a security alarm. 

As part of the program, the students had the opportunity to visit the LIGO Hanford Observatory on November 16th, to see the company’s study of lasers and gravitation waves.  The students started the day by watching an introduction video about LIGO's studies.  After this they were able to undertake many  fun learning activities around the LIGO complex.  These included star spotting, examining light properties and playing with the giant slinky.  At  end of the day, the students took part in a guided tour of the complex.  As the students have been studying electronics, they were treated to see the electronics lab within LIGO,  not normally on the normal LIGO tour.

The goal of the class is to introduce a fun program to the students, whilst expanding their horizons of science and math based career opportunities.

            The best example of the educational spirit behind the phrase, “No Child Left Behind” is found during 7^th period in Endicott Middle School. That is the period in which keyboarding is taught. It is an elective class where students learn the invaluable skill of typing quickly and accurately. It was also the place where the Endicott School came face to face with a problem. What do you do with the student with only one working hand?

            Logan Leifer, an 8^th grader at Endicott brought that challenge to class. Logan has limited mobility in his left hand due to early childhood injuries. While not letting his limitation keep him from being active in school and sports activities, it quickly became apparent that mastering typing in the traditional manner was not going to work.

            “I’ve had Logan in other classes,” noted Mike Anderson, the keyboarding instructor. “He is not afraid of a challenge. But it was clear that the muscle coordination was not there for the usual approach to typing.”

            The answer came in the form of Leah Chinell, the GEAR UP coordinator.  Chinell has a bachelor’s degree in Business Education and has been working with the GEAR UP program for the past year.

GEAR UP is a federal program whose aim is to not only convince all students served of the importance of attending college, but to prepare them for it. Chinell’s job is see to it that each individual student is eager and prepared for college.

            With Logan, Chinell went beyond the extra mile in doing her job. Keyboarding instruction was nothing new to Chinell who has several years experience as a keyboarding teacher. “I had heard about programs for one-handed typers,” explained Chinell. “It took a little research, but I was able to locate programming for the Dvorak System which allows those without full use of both hands to still learn to type quickly.”

            The program, allows the computer to assign different letters to the various keys of a traditional keyboard. For instance, with the Dvorak system, when the “g” key is struck, the computer will type an “e”. This allows someone using one hand to use the stronger fingers to strike the most commonly used letters, while the less frequently used letters, numbers and punctuation will be worked by the weaker fingers. Distance on the keyboard is also important for a one-handed typer. The Dvorak system keeps the most often used letters close to the “home position” of the typer’s fingers.

            “My husband and I are both thrilled with what the school is doing to help Logan master this important skill,” said Janet Liefer, Logan’s mother. “We have always told Logan he can do whatever he puts his mind to. The school is helping us keep this promise to Logan.”

 “We were excited about the extra resources GEAR UP would bring to our school,” noted Suzanne Schmick, Endicott Middle School principal. “But we had no idea the depth of talent we found in our newly hired coordinator. Mrs. Chinell’s effort to ensure that the important skill of typing is available to all of our students is truly inspiring.”

            “Keyboarding is a skill that requires a huge amount of practice to become proficient with. Doing it one-handed is even more of a challenge,” reports Chinell.

            “I realize this is an important skill for me,” said Logan. “Being able to type will make my school life a lot easier. And typing is a lot faster than writing things by hand!”

            “Endicott school is small enough to really focus on individual students,” said Schmick. “In this school, it is true that no child is left behind.”