Students will proceed through the program as a cohort, and local criminal justice professionals will teach scenario-based instruction.

“The student will be put in a real-life scenario depending on what aspect of criminal justice is being studied. For example, if it’s criminal investigations, students might be presented with evidence about a burglary. They would have to think like a detective to figure out what steps to take,” said Sgt. Christen Shea, the College’s coordinator of the Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science in Criminal Justice.

Students at Polk State’s public, charter high schools – Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate in Winter Haven and Polk State Lakeland Collegiate – complete high school requirements while also earning college credit – all at no cost. In the case of the criminal justice program, high school students will earn credits toward their associate degree in criminal justice.

The College is also in the process of developing a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. The proposed new degree must be approved by the State Board of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Polk State’s accrediting agency. Should it receive those approvals, the College is aiming to start the bachelor’s in the fall.

Though Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate has offered criminal justice since the school began in 2006, students were limited in how far they could take the program because they had to be 19 to study at the Polk State Institute of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Academy. Since then, those limitations have been removed with the development of a criminal justice associate degree. The proposed bachelor’s just opens up even wider opportunities for those interested in the field.

“Before, there was a gap between high school graduation and when they turned 19, but now we don’t have that gap,” said Polk State Chain of Lakes Director Bridget Fetter.

Students in all Polk State collegiate high school programs – including Allied Health, Fine Arts, Information Systems and the general Associate in Arts degree – must complete work-based learning experiences that give them a real-life introduction to their field of interest.

“In the case of Criminal Justice, we will be able to place students with the different law enforcement agencies within Polk County,” Fetter said.

Fetter said the Criminal Justice program is being offered in response to student demand. The Polk County School Board has a criminal justice academy at Kathleen High School in Lakeland, but Fetter said students on the east side of the county were looking for a more convenient option.

Current high school sophomores and juniors are eligible to apply to Polk State’s collegiate high schools beginning in February. Requirements include a minimum 2.5 grade-point average and a passing score on the PERT (Postsecondary Education Readiness Test).

Prospective students are encouraged to attend an information session at any of the following locations and times:

Polk State College Winter Haven Campus, 999 Ave. H N.E.
Student Center (WST) 126
Feb. 2, 7, 23
All at 6:30 p.m.

Polk State College Lakeland Campus, 3425 Winter Lake Road
Lakeland Technology Building (LTB) 1100
Feb. 6, 13, 20
All at 6:30 p.m.

Applications will be available at the information sessions or at the school offices. The application deadline for lottery admissions is March 2.

Those interested in the Criminal Justice program should indicate so on their applications.

For more information, visit www.polk.edu or call Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate at 863-298-6800 or Polk State Lakeland Collegiate at 863-669-2322.

Sponsored by USF Polytechnic and the Polk County School District, the Central Florida Gifted & Talented Institute is Polk County’s only summer day program for gifted and talented students. Featuring four separate programs, it offers innovative, challenging curriculum targeted at active learning for gifted students entering 7^th, 8th and 9th grade:

• The Hot 2 Bot Applied Robotics Academy immerses students in information technology and engineering robotic concepts as they build two different types of robots, design programming for these robots, explore simple and complex machines, create remote operation devices, discover robotic career opportunities and learn about the impact of robotics on society.
• Extreme Green Adventure, an exhilarating outdoor exploration program, lets students experience biodiversity in action and discover man’s impact on environmental sustainability. Hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling will provide many opportunities to interact with nature. Experts in the areas of the environment and technology will address a broad range of techniques used to promote sustainability. Students will build a model “Green City” and create public service announcements that promote sustainability through preservation and conservation. The Extreme Green Adventure is designed for students who prefer to step outside the walls of the classroom and into nature.
• CSI: If Evidence Could Talk lets students investigate crimes, gather evidence, analyze data, formulate conclusions and solve mysteries. Chemical analysis, blood typing, fiber and plant analysis, gathering and analyzing geological data are among the types of evidence that will be examined.
• New this year: Dr. Jekyll’s Lab: Survival of the Fictionist. If a mad scientist competed in a reality show, it would be called Dr. Jekyll’s Lab. Young “mad scientists” will explore the arts of filmmaking and fiction in a workshop that combines drama and technology. To survive Dr. Jekyll’s Lab, teams must design a video game and create their own avatars, invent a prototype to save the world from the “Looming Doom,” market it in a student directed infomercial, and finally, rock the runway in the “maddest” model competition ever. Along the way, teams will compete in a series of experiments that would test the survival skills of any mad scientist. Winning teams will earn a special “lab assistant”. This IGOR (Immunity’s Great Obstacle Remover) will be used to enhance the production of their video games, infomercials and prototypes. Experiments include the Search for the Immunity Talisman, Survivor: 2081, Exploding Elixir, Project: Lab Coat and will culminate in the final ceremony with the Monster Mash Bash!

Instructors have extensive experience in the content and associated skills and represent middle school, high school, and university expertise. Students enjoy weekly field trips appropriate to the curriculum. On July 26, the Exhibition of Excellence features a robotic competition and lets students showcase their final creations to family, friends and community members.
A limited number of spots are available. For more information, including an online application, visit http://www.poly.usf.edu/gt/ or contact Kathy Sebeny (863) 667-7059 or ksebeny@poly.usf.edu.

What should parents look for when reviewing the report card? Sherron suggests evaluating your child’s report card for these five things:

1. Study skills - “What does your child’s report card indicate about his or her ability to focus, take initiative and manage his or her time?” says Sherron. Developing good study skills is an important part of becoming an effective student. That involves staying organized at home and at school, keeping track of assignments and projects, and learning to prioritize.

2. Good effort - Being involved in homework will give you a good sense of your child’s effort level, but pay attention to marks and comments on the report card that address this, too. Talk with the teacher about it. Trying hard is important, but if your child’s grades don’t reflect his or her effort, there may be a deeper problem.

3. Red flags - Red flags are warning signs of potential issues. “We suggest looking beyond the grades, because your child’s attitude about and commitment to learning are just as important,” says Sherron. Do the teacher’s remarks indicate your child is unmotivated or has difficulty listening and staying focused? Does he or she talk too much in class or avoid school work?

4. Behavioral issues - Is your child’s teacher reporting indifference or apathy on your child’s part? Or is he or she acting out? “Often, struggling students feel worthless and stupid,” says Sherron. “When your child is beyond frustration, beyond trying or caring, his or her behavior may worsen – especially at school.”

5. Strengths - “Often, there’s so much focus on the bad parts of the report card that we forget to pay attention to the areas where students excel,” Sherron says. “One of the best ways to build children’s self-esteem is to help them find the thing that makes them feel successful. Remember to notice and celebrate your child’s strengths.”

For more information about Huntington Learning Center, contact Carol Sherron, Huntington Learning Center of Lakeland at (863) 858-3600.

The accreditation means graduates of the Polk State program are immediately eligible to take the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography examination, a benchmark increasingly used by employers. Students of non-CAAHEP-accredited programs must typically work for a year or more, gaining on-the-job experience that prepares them for the ARDMS test, said Merrybeth Etherton, diagnostic medical sonography program director.

“ARDMS registration is the gold standard in sonography,” she said.

The CAAHEP accreditation process took six to eight months and included a site visit to the Airside Center, where the sonography program is housed, and interviews with Polk State students and faculty. Because Polk State followed ARDMS recommendations and guidelines from the start, no major changes to the program were required, Etherton said.

“We are so proud and excited. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it,” Etherton said, adding that Beth Luckett, radiography program director, initiated the accreditation process before Etherton took over the sonography program in June.

“The accreditation puts the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at Polk State on the map.”

Etherton said the accreditation puts Polk State ahead of a national trend. Insurance companies are increasingly requiring all medical imaging professionals to pass registration examinations. In response, employers now often require job candidates to either have passed the test or be eligible to take it when hired.

Diagnostic Medical Sonography is one of several outstanding Health Sciences programs at Polk State College. Other programs under Polk State’s Health Sciences umbrella include radiography, physical therapist assistant, nursing, occupational therapy assistant, respiratory care, emergency medical services and cardiovascular technology. These programs attract students from throughout Central Florida. Health Sciences students regularly outperform their peers in the state and nation on required licensing exams.

Polk State’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography program was launched in 2007. The limited-access program will graduate its third class later this month. Through partnerships with major hospitals and clinics in Polk County, students in the program gain valuable real-life training. The program’s graduates have gone on to work at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, Bond Clinic, Winter Haven Hospital, Watson Clinic, Bartow Regional Medical Center and Highlands Regional Medical Center.

Opened under its new designation in June, the new center still provides many of the typical career-seeking services but now offers a broader range of professional development services and makes a priority of connecting with students early in their college tenure.

The goal of the expansion is to engage students in not only thinking about their careers early but also in taking active steps in assessing their career choices and job options.

“To do this, the center helps students build their work experience and fine-tune their resumes, portfolios, and cover letters so when they graduate they are more than just a few steps ahead of the other applicants,” said Sonja Hayes, who runs the new Talent Management Center.

“Today’s job market is competitive and the new Talent Management Center helps give Poly students an added advantage to getting hired,” said Hayes, whose title in the revamped center is talent agent, a label that reflects the proactive approach to help students succeed in their professional and career development.

“In addition to a degree, today’s applicants should already have job experience, even straight out of college,” she said. “That’s where our services can help our graduates the most because those internships not only build job experience but also help students build career networks. Not many universities are offering a service to this extent yet. USF Polytechnic is ahead of a fairly new trend to expand career centers to better serve students.”

Sometimes found on the employment and human resources side of universities, such as Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins, the term talent management for career services for students is not so common. The concept of talent management stretches the current practice of making job hunting only a virtual experience, in which jobseekers go online to large hubs of job openings to find work, submit applications, and post resumes.

“The pendulum is swinging back to more assisted searches, in tandem with a range of support information and experience-building opportunities to strengthen each applicant,” Hayes said.

The Talent Management Center is part of USF Polytechnic’s Office of Experiential and Applied Learning and works in tandem with an outreach team, which focuses on identifying openings and opportunities for course projects and internships, among other services.  Hayes places most students in existing internships. But if she can’t match a student to an internship from the pool of existing openings, the outreach team steps in and extends the reach beyond businesses already partnering with USF Poly to find an opportunity that matches the student’s career direction.

Among its many services, the center provides challenging mock interviews and experiential learning opportunities. In essence, Hayes acts as a liaison for students, helping them prepare for the workplace with resume building, job search training, interviewing, and professionalism skills.

In addition to helping students who have already determined careers, the Talent Management Center also takes an active approach in helping those who are still unsure.

“Just because you know your major does not mean you’re sure about a career,” Hayes said. “But we cover all the bases, whether you know what you want to do or not.”

Probably the most beneficial service for those looking for direction is the assessment program. Somewhere between an aptitude test and a personality test, the online tool helps students define their goals, preferences, working styles and skills.

“The assessment is a great starting point for anyone who doesn’t have a clear course for a career,” she said.

Hayes, who joined USF Polytechnic in October, has worked in career and student services for eight years, seven of which were in law-focused career centers, most recently at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport.

Her initial efforts in the Talent Management Center include developing student assessments to help plan future programming and services and tracking outcomes by following graduates to determine if the services were effective in helping them not only get hired but also through their careers.

“We encourage every Polytechnic student, whether or not they’ve decided on a career, to make use of our services,” Hayes said. “Instead of waiting for senior year to start looking for a job, students are guided from day one so they’ll graduate ready to enter a job in their chosen field.”

To contact the Talent Management Center, call (863) 667-7063.

Project ASAP — Accelerated STEM Academic Pipeline — is a collaboration between USF Poly’s Division of Education, Polk County Schools, and the Helios Education Foundation. A $950,000 ASAP grant is funded through a competitive process sponsored by the Helios Education Foundation and will provide tuition and scholarships for middle school math and science teachers.

Polk County Schools administrators, together with Drs. John Liontas, Roderic Brame, Vanessa Pitts Bannister, Ruth Sylvester, and Tom Freijo of  USF Poly, developed the ASAP program to provide 12 graduate credits in integrated STEM education.

Faculty in the Division of Education conducted several focus groups with middle school teachers in Polk County to determine their needs. The program aims to enhance the pedagogical content knowledge of teachers by adding expertise in not only science and math content but also on how to teach STEM subjects more meaningfully to students.

“As a country we are in desperate need of engineers,” said Brame, co-principal investigator of Project ASAP. “In our region, many students are involved with robotics teams and competitions. These activities offer excellent tools for building expertise in engineering, problem solving, and programming. The problem is that many teachers are not so comfortable or knowledgeable in robotics. Therefore, we decided to find a new way to use robotics and engineering to teach core math and science concepts while using a hands-on, minds-on approach to teaching and learning.”

Liontas, co-principal investigator of Project ASAP and director of the Division of Education, agrees.

“We thought it would be amazing to bring robotics into the classroom,” he said. “If we did just that, we would have a big head start in building capacity in STEM.

“The next step in ascertaining whether the teaching and learning is meaningful to students is to make certain they have great skills in literacy. Students need to be able to read, write, and speak with deeper understanding in STEM. All of the strategies used to build literacy in STEM are also helpful to any student with low reading or writing skills. It is especially helpful for students who are English language learners.”

Project ASAP offers a graduate certificate in STEM education. All courses—Math Content, Math Inquiry, Science Content, Science Inquiry, Integrated STEM, and Literacy in STEM—are infused with inquiry, problem-based learning, positive group interaction, and literacy components. Engineering and technology are integrated throughout coursework, and innovative, research-based, best practices are highlighted within collaborative hands-on applications. Participants will develop knowledge and expertise and will apply curricula samples in their own classrooms.

For example, Math Content and Inquiry will incorporate important topics of number, algebra, geometry, and probability and statistics from a secondary teaching perspective. The activities will emphasize problem solving, reasoning, communication, connections, and representation in developing classroom materials and methods.

Similarly, Science Content and Inquiry will integrate energy throughout other core concepts within earth, life, and physical sciences, and will focus on developing techniques for a student-centered, problem-based learning environment.

Conversely, Integrated STEM will bring together core math and science concepts from individual courses by integrating math and science to build a curriculum that meets state and national standards and college-readiness standards. Problem-based Learning will be embedded and integrated with engineering and technology, while Literacy in STEM will integrate reading for comprehension and writing to gain understanding in the content disciplines, emphasizing differentiated instruction while meeting the needs of ESE (exceptional student education, including visually impaired) and ELL (English language learner) populations.

“Given the array of courses specifically designed and developed for Project ASAP, I have no doubt that our approach will engage teachers and students in activities and reflective discussions and writings by creating an interdependent learning environment in which all students can learn and succeed,” said Liontas. “I have, therefore, great confidence in our team and community partners to develop course concepts that both align with and support Polk County School Board curriculum. Together we can enhance content knowledge through effective teaching and learning practices. Together we can move mountains.”

The first cohort of 32 teachers begins its coursework in January 2012. Over the next three years that number of teachers will grow to 96 and will impact the lives of some 60,000 students in the Polk County School District.

“We are grateful for the opportunity the Helios Education Foundation has provided us and remain steadfast in realizing their commitment to engaging minds and enriching lives through education,” said Liontas.

“All of us involved in Project ASAP are looking forward to meeting and exceeding the needs of our middle-school mathematics and science teachers and students. This collaborative initiative supports both state and national initiatives and is, even more important, perfectly aligned with the Florida Strategic Plan for improving STEM education.

“Let us not forget that the beating heart of the program is to build a community of students who are highly skilled and competitive in tomorrow’s workforce and academia. We want to help make our region economically and intellectually viable. Project ASAP is a much needed step in that direction.”

Helios Education Foundation is the largest nonprofit organization serving Arizona and Florida focused solely on education, and is dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals by creating opportunities for success in postsecondary education. The foundation’s goal is to increase the number of young adults successfully completing postsecondary education with the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in a global economy, leading to an improved quality of life.

Extended University will offer two options: Cohort One: Jan. 28 – June 16, 2012. Saturdays 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Cohort Two: July 14 – Dec. 8, 2012. Saturdays 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Cost: $550.

FCCPC training is a comprehensive program that provides a foundation for work in early childhood programs serving children from birth to age five. Students who complete the program receive an FCCPC that meets the Florida staff training licensing requirements. The training consists of a minimum of 120 clock hours of early childhood instruction, 80 contact hours, and at least two methods of formal assessment that offers “Birth through Five” certification.

Minimum requirements: High school diploma or GED, and must be at least 18 years of age.

For more information contact Christina Pixley cpixley@poly.usf.edu or (863) 667-7741.

Called Project PRIDE (Planning and Rewarding Instructional Diversity in Education: Building the Future One Minority Teacher at a Time), the program will recruit, select, matriculate, graduate, and place at least 42 well-trained, highly effective teachers in high-poverty/high-minority elementary schools in Polk County.

“Minorities are underrepresented in the classroom, not with students, but with teachers,” said Dr. John Liontas, director of the Division of Education at USF Polytechnic and principal investigator on the project.

“Without a significant infusion of minority teachers, the student-teacher racial/ethnic disparity, if remaining unaddressed, will only become more exacerbated in the years ahead.”

The three-year $1.2 million grant began Nov. 15 for the first year of the project. Partners include USF Poly’s Division of Education, Polk County Public Schools, and Polk State College.

The project will offer financial support for students to earn a bachelor’s degree in education from USF Poly in return for a promise to teach in a Polk County elementary school one year for each year of financial support received.

The value of adult role models is well established, said Dr. Tom Freijo, measurement and research instructor at USF Poly and co-principal investigator on Project PRIDE.

“In Polk County, as in many school districts across the country, there is a large difference in the demographic makeup of elementary school students and their teachers,” he said. “For instance, it is possible that a male student, a black student, or a Hispanic student will go through elementary grades without encountering a teacher who shares his or her demographic characteristics.

“By actively recruiting prospective teachers from underrepresented demographic groups, preparing them to be teachers, and placing them in high-need schools, Project PRIDE will make large strides toward assuring that all students will have an opportunity during elementary school to see ‘someone who looks like them’ at the front of the classroom.”

According to Liontas, the influx of students who do not speak English at home, along with the lack of at least a similar increase in the number of minority teachers, has created a rift in programs that aim to improve student success rates.

“In this country, more than 90 percent of recent immigrants come from non-English speaking countries, and between the years 2030 and 2050, school-aged children now labeled minorities will be the majority in U.S. schools,” he said.

“Polk County—the eighth largest county in Florida with approximately 2,000 square miles, and one of the largest concentrations of population in the southeast with more than 7.5 million people living within a 100-mile radius—has had a population growth of nearly 25 percent from 2000 to 2010. During that time, the minority black and Hispanic populations have seen an even more dramatic growth of nearly 36 percent and 132 percent, respectively.”

Liontas stressed that the number of minorities in Polk County schools will continue increasing.

“Project PRIDE will help lessen the difference,” he said. “Mostly, we want to greatly reduce the disparity between minority students and teachers who look like them.”

The research team at USF Polytechnic’s Center of Research, Policy Analysis, and Evaluation will conduct both a process evaluation and a product evaluation to measure the project’s overall impact under a separate contract for the school district. In addition, the evaluations will help potential teachers meet high standards through supplemental professional development workshops held for participants each year of the project before they are placed in schools.

Project PRIDE aims to recruit a pool of at least 90 minority applicants to the program, at least half of whom will be males; select from the pool of applicants the highest qualified 45 applicants, at least half of whom will be males; matriculate 45 program participants in USF Poly’s elementary education program, at least 42 of whom will graduate and be eligible for Florida Department of Education certification; and place at least 42 program participants in high-poverty/high-minority elementary schools in Polk County.

According to Freijo, Project PRIDE also mirrors key polytechnic concepts.

“Part of the unique mission of a polytechnic university is to bridge the gap between what is often seen as the ‘ivory tower’ of academia and the real needs that exist in institutions and businesses in the community,” he said. “USF Polytechnic’s Project PRIDE faculty and administrators, in concert with administrators and teachers from Polk County public schools, will frame solutions to a very real problem.”

Results of the program will be presented as a model for improving education at local, regional, state, and national conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals and online venues.

Dr. Naomi Boyer, an author of the Project PRIDE proposal and Polk State’s assistant to the vice president for special projects, said Polk State will identify qualified, promising students and assist them in applying to Project PRIDE. In doing so, Polk State will create a pipeline of students from which USF Poly will select participants.

“Polk State continues to work with other educational institutions in our community to provide access to quality higher education,” said Boyer, who also represents Polk State on the Project PRIDE executive team. “We are pleased to identify local qualified candidates to participate in the program as a partner with USF Polytechnic and Polk County Public Schools.”

Dr. Sherrie Nickell, superintendent of Polk’s public schools, praised USF Poly’s Division of Education for partnering with the school district and endorsed the highly supportive design of the teacher recruitment and training project.

“We value having teachers who came up through our own system, who want to keep their families here and give back to the community’s children,” she said. “This plan will give us an opportunity to give these teachers an excellent place to work and benefit from their insights and caring.”

Denny Dunn, the school district’s interim assistant superintendent for human resources, will manage the district’s contracts with the university.

The YMCA of West Central Florida provides after school care for more than 400 children at 20 sites around Polk County. Thanks to GEICO’s support, the YMCA was able to invest in the Making Meaning literacy curriculum which teaches comprehension strategies with read-aloud books. The read-aloud component also encourages social skills and a supportive peer community of readers!

Every day after school, the YMCA is a safe place for school children to play sports and be physically active, build character, eat healthy snacks and receive much needed academic support. Parents can continue literacy successes at home by reading to children, asking children to read to them, and finding teachable moments such as reading recipes and writing grocery lists!

To find out more about the YMCA and after school programs around the county, visit YMCAWCF.org or call (863) 644-3528.

With just weeks to go before the start of the school year, these counseling services are still at risk of discontinuation. The College & Career Campaign Committee has organized an event to put us all face-to-face with the counselors and learn more about the benefits and services they provide to local students.

Everyone is invited to attend!

Thursday, August 4 | 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Garden Club Building (corner of Lake Avenue & Orange Street in Downtown Lakeland)

Appetizers, wine & more

For more information about the Campaign, visit CollegeandCareerCampaign.org.