Pre-Engineering Academy
ADVANTAGES ENGINEERED FOR RURAL STUDENTS IN THIS INNOVATIVE PROGRAM
By Kit Wilkerson January 2005
Dr. John Cavan, President of Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) knows a good idea when he hears one. When superintendents of the Region 8 public schools approached him just over a year ago with a proposal that would raise the standards of education locally, he was quickly on board.
Region 8, which is part of SVCC's service area, includes the mostly rural counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward. Superintendents in these communities had a need: they wanted to provide advanced classes in math, science, and engineering to high school juniors and seniors so that they could be more competitive at the college level with students from larger urban schools. The number of students per high school who could take advantage of such advance placement (AP) courses, however, was small -- three or four at best -- not a great enough number to justify an item line in already strapped public school budgets. The solution required the combined efforts and resources of the public schools and the community college. In September of 2003, the partnership produced the state's first Pre-Engineering Academy.
"It's the only one of its kind in Virginia. The uniqueness of it is the close relationship and cooperation with the superintendents and the community college," said Dr. Cavan. "We're sort of like one. It's amazing how well we work together and it's been this way for a long time. That's why we have the largest dual enrollment program."
Dual enrollment, a key component of the Academy, allows high school students to meet requirements for high school graduation while simultaneously earning college credit. A pioneer of dual enrollment in Virginia, Dr. Cavan is proud of the college's continued leadership in this area.
The unique partnership entered into by the high schools and SVCC would work this way: the eligible students from each county would be pooled into a single group of 24 or 25 and educated together under one roof. Taking advantage of the dual enrollment guidelines already in place, SVCC would provide instructors, determine curriculum, and supply lab equipment for the Academy. The superintendents had to find a location, fund its upkeep, and provide transportation.
This partnership was immediately expanded to include two resourceful and influential politicians -- Senator Frank Ruff and Delegate Tommy Wright. These men serve on The Tobacco Indemnification and Revitalization Commission, part of the Virginia Tobacco Commission, "a 31-member body created by the 1999 general Assembly. Its purpose is to make payments to farmers to compensate for the decline of tobacco quotas and to promote economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities." The Education subcommittee, on which both men also serve, reviews grant applications. The Commission would eventually consign over a quarter-million dollars to the Pre-Engineering Academy, money used to purchase state-of-the-art lab equipment and make renovations to the Amelia/Nottoway Vo/Tech Center, proposed site for the program.
In April 2003, with cash in hand and scant months before the new school year would begin, SVCC looked for someone who could make the Academy idea a reality. They tapped their own Dr. Edward Chernault who was primary consultant and researcher in the planning stages, and a man uniquely qualified to lead. Dr. Chernault holds a BS degree in Industrial Engineering, a Masters in Career and Technical Education, a PhD in Educational Administration, is licensed in public school administration K - 12, and he has been an instructor in the field of engineering at SVCC for many years. He is not only director of the Pre-Engineering Academy he is also its mascot. As a young man drifting, careless of his future, he attended SVCC and the experience changed his life. "Teachers there helped me build self-confidence, and find a focus," he comments. He believes he has the perfect job.
"The job," during an astonishing 3-month turnaround, included testing and recruiting students, designing a curriculum, soliciting an articulation agreement from Virginia Tech's School of Engineering, coordinating schedules with the high schools, and overseeing building renovation and installation of lab equipment at the Vo/Tech Center in Jetersville, Va.
Dr. Chernault admits that there were growing pains in the first year, and students were not the only ones who faced a learning curve. "You don't start something like this in a short time frame and expect everything to run smoothly," he cautions. "Certainly any administrator would tell you that, yes, we would like to have time to get out all the kinks and bugs.before we start, but the basic premise is that we were doing this for the students, not for ourselves. We had juniors and seniors in the program that, if it hadn't gotten going, would have missed out. We had to bite the bullet, and we're still trying to iron out wrinkles as we speak, but nonetheless we're still offering what we wanted to offer."
The Academy is now in the first semester of its second year, running at max capacity with 26 students -- 10 returning seniors and the balance of juniors. A total of 47 credits are offered in calculus, physics, chemistry and engineering. Students taking additional dual enrollment classes at their home high schools in English, History and Government have the potential to earn an Associate degree from SVCC -- a University Parallel with a Science major - and could then enter a 4-year college at the level of junior. Three or four high school seniors may achieve this remarkable goal in the spring.
Sean, Brooke and Ryan are juniors at the Academy. They are all outstanding students from different counties with varied backgrounds. One has parents who were not educated beyond high school; another's parents are a teacher and engineer. One grew up working on the farm; another holds down a part-time job in addition to going to high school and college. Two will continue in the field of engineering; one is not so sure. Regardless of their ultimate goals, these students are gobbling up credits as a way to fast-track their futures, and although they seem unaware of the number of dedicated people who have come together on many fronts to create this "perfect storm" of opportunity, they are none-the-less happy to take advantage of the situation.
Their schedules, for the most part, have been pre-arranged. Brooke, who hopes to have a career in chemical engineering or water resources management, had the most choices to make. "I gave up a spot at Governor's School," she says, ".and dropped French and Art classes this semester, partly because my high school is on a 7-period block schedule instead of six." She plans to take up both subjects at a later date.
The Pre-engineering Academy offers classes, like most colleges, on alternating days. Students go to college from 8 am to 10:45 Monday through Friday. By noon they are back in their respective high schools, eating lunch and gossiping with their peers. When asked what has been their biggest adjustment going from high school to college, the answer is unanimous - homework. "In high school we can usually finish our homework in study hall," says Sean. "Some of the calculations, especially for engineering take a lot of time," adds Brooke. When asked about his long-term plans and whether or not he would return to the area post-college, Ryan confides, "I would like to go to a large city for awhile.like New York, but then I'd like to come back because.I don't like crowds."
Dr. Robert Sobeck teaches Pre-Calculus, Physics and Intro to Engineering at the Academy. He has first-hand knowledge of the challenges involved in educating these young men and women. "The most obvious difference between these extremely bright high school students and regular college freshmen is level of maturity," says Sobeck. "And most students have not been exposed to a "hard" math.or computational science, and it's sometimes a struggle. Of course standards are mandated by the state. We can't alter the material or change the level of the course work." Having instructed at the University of Virginia as well as the community college level, Dr. Sobeck offers one surprising comparison. "When regular college-age freshmen encounter a concept they can't understand or are confronted with work that is particularly difficult, they tend to get angry.and give up too soon." By contrast, he says, "these high school students tend to take it (their failure) as a matter of course and come back.and seem to redouble their efforts." Perhaps their minds are more open to a challenge.
Certainly the minds of educators in Southside Virginia were open to a challenge when they undertook this ambitious program. Dr. Chernault, in characterizing the engineering psyche and the engineering process in general says: "The whole process of having a need, and coming up with a concept of how to address that need, being able to communicate that need, being able to apply that, being able to critique that, being able to improve that, being able to apply that to other situations.is all engineering." By this definition, The Pre-Engineering Academy is itself an engineering feat, and its very existence pays tribute to all those who made it possible.
SVCC PRE-ENGINEERING FACILITY UNVEILED
January 2005
In late October of 2004, an open house celebrated the newly renovated Pre-Engineering facilities at the Amelia-Nottoway Vocational Center in Jetersville. Dr. John J. Cavan, Southside Virginia Community College President, welcomed those attending the event and lauded those involved in the partnership to create this opportunity for high school students.
The program curriculum is designed to prepare the students to transfer into baccalaureate degree programs majoring in such engineering fields as mechanics, civil, chemical or environmental disciplines. "I am excited about this program and the partnerships that made it a reality. It is a cooperative effort of the Region 8 school divisions, the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification Commission, Senator Frank Ruff and Delegate Tommy Wright," Dr. Cavan said. Senator Ruff noted that the program has come a long way since the initial stages and that it is improving each year. "We are doing what we are supposed to be doing," Ruff said. "The leaders of the school systems sat down with the Attending the Open House at the Pre-Engineerging Academy at the Amelia-Nottoway Vocational Technical Center are (Left to Right) Dr. Gwen Edwards, Superintendent of Nottoway County Schools, Dr. John J. Cavan, SVCC President, James Moore, SVCC Board Member, James Thornton, Superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, Dr. David Gangle, Superintendent of Amelia County Schools, and Senator Frank Ruff. community college, talked about a problem and found a solution. The counties do not have a lot of money but by pulling their efforts together, our young people can go to the head of the class."
The program offers the opportunity for high school students to earn an Associate's degree before they actually graduate from high school. Successful completion of the program may also enhance a student's chances at acceptance into a university engineering program.
Pre-Engineering Brochure
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