Bayer Joins Connecticut's Promise To Our Youth(TM)
Commits to Doubling Number of Science-Volunteers/Mentors in Region by 2005
WEST HAVEN, Conn., April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Haven Public Schools
system is poised to become a national model in science education reform as a
result of a new public-private partnership that Bayer Corporation
Pharmaceutical Division in West Haven is establishing with the school
district. New Haven's elementary school students now will learn science with
a cutting edge curriculum that is endorsed by nearly every major science and
education organization in the country.
At the same time, Bayer Pharmaceutical Division also announced today that
it is joining Connecticut's Promise To Our Youth(TM) and committing to
doubling the number of its science education volunteers in the region from
200 to 400 by 2005.
These new partnerships mark a major expansion throughout the greater New
Haven region of Making Science Make Sense, a Bayer Corporation initiative
which advances science literacy across the U.S. through hands-on,
inquiry-based science learning, employee volunteerism and public education.
By joining Connecticut's Promise, a statewide volunteer/mentoring program,
Bayer will significantly increase the number of science-volunteers who work
with students and teachers on science learning in schools throughout New
Haven, West Haven and Orange. Launched in June 1998 and patterned after
General Colin Powell's America's Promise, Connecticut's Promise is designed to
provide children and youth at-risk with the five fundamental resources
necessary to ensure a better quality of life, including mentoring
relationships with caring adults and effective education practices that will
produce in them marketable skills.
"We are delighted that Bayer is joining this important initiative and we
invite other Connecticut companies to get involved for the sake of our future
-- our children," said State Representative Chris DePino, who is instrumental
in the Connecticut's Promise initiative.
According to Dr. David Ebsworth, executive vice president of Bayer
Corporation and president of Bayer Pharmaceutical Division, in addition to
providing mentors for students, the Bayer Foundation will be awarding New
Haven Public Schools (NHPS) a $250,000 grant that will provide seed money to
support science curriculum change in all 34 elementary schools over five
years.
"Bayer is committed to supporting, in words and deeds, the kind of quality
science education that will develop in young people the skills they'll need in
the next century," said Dr. Ebsworth.
Over the five-year period, this new program, with a curriculum developed
by the National Science Resources Center and aligned with both the National
Science Education Standards and Connecticut's Science Education Standards, is
expected to reach some 10,000 students and 700 teachers in grades K-6.
Dr. Ebsworth, who made the announcements at the first Bayer Making Science
Make Sense Volunteer Conference in New Haven, said that the grant is earmarked
for ongoing teacher training in the new teaching methods,
curriculum/materials, and the development of a materials resource center that
will be used by all science teachers throughout the district. The initiative
is being developed in partnership with Southern Connecticut State University
and the Connecticut Academy for Mathematics, Science & Technology. The
science-volunteers will assist the students and teachers as they make the
transition from a traditional text/memorization method to a hands-on,
inquiry-based approach.
"This new partnership between Bayer and NHPS is one that other communities
interested in implementing reform may look to as a model," said Dr. Reginald
Mayo, superintendent, NHPS. "We are making a commitment to teaching science
based on national standards, using the critical thinking skills that will help
our students later in life," he added.
Dr. Mayo said that when it comes to improving science education, it is
critical for all community stakeholders to work together, and pointed to a new
survey of the nation's science teachers that reinforces this.
According to the new survey commissioned by Bayer Corporation and the
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and released today, most of the
nation's pre-college science teachers are "not at all confident" that today's
elementary science programs are preparing students for the challenges of the
next century.
They also call the poor performance of U.S. middle and high school
students in the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) an accurate
reflection of their classroom performance.
They do believe, however, that the reforms outlined in the National
Science Education Standards, which emphasize hands-on, inquiry-based learning,
can significantly strengthen science education and student performance, but
that successful reform requires the active support of all stakeholder groups
-- teachers, school administrators and school boards, parents and other
citizens, business and industry, and the scientific community. Without it,
they warn, reform efforts will fail or fall far short of their goals.
Science Literacy Is Critical
Why is science education reform so important? Because, say experts, when
students learn science experientially through the scientific processes of
asking questions, experimenting, analyzing and testing assumptions, they
become scientifically literate and develop important lifelong skills, such as
critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork abilities.
"Science literacy is not just for nuclear physicists or biologists; it's
for everyone," said Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the nation's first female
African-American astronaut and current science literacy advocate for the Bayer
Making Science Make Sense program. "It means being able to read a newspaper
article about a science-related subject and understand it or prepare a
nutritionally sound meal for your children."
Science teachers concur. They say science literacy is critical for all
adults, even though they do not believe the general public views it with the
same level of importance. Two-thirds of the teachers (68 percent) call
science literacy "essential" for adults, whereas almost none (two percent)
believe that the general public feels the same.
"Science teachers are sending a clear message to all of us, that we need
to recognize the importance of hands-on, inquiry-based learning for all
students, and that `it takes a village' to make sure students are indeed
learning this way," said Dr. Jemison, who also attended the press conference
and the Making Science Make Sense Volunteer Conference.
Scientists in the Classroom
Dr. Mayo added that students and teachers in New Haven are fortunate to
have stakeholders in the community that are cognizant of their roles in
science education reform. He said that both should derive benefits from
having direct contact with science-volunteers.
According to the Bayer Facts V survey, almost all science teachers
(98 percent) say it is critical for students to be exposed to scientists
and/or engineers. They believe that working with scientists helps students
better understand science content and peaks their interest in the subject,
while also providing them with positive role models and solid information
about science as a career.
Teachers, too, find working with scientists on science curricula and
professional development beneficial. Though fewer say they have experience
with this type of volunteer program compared to student-scientist programs (36
percent versus 48 percent), those who have say it bolstered their motivation
and enthusiasm for teaching the subject (92 percent); helped them better
understand science content (90 percent); and, improved their teaching of
science content (87 percent).
These new partnerships with Connecticut's Promise and NHPS are the latest
components of Bayer Pharmaceutical Division's Making Science Make Sense
program. Established in 1992, it features a number of local science education
outreach efforts and partnerships. They include Bayer scientists working
directly with teachers in three West Haven and Orange elementary schools; and,
Scientists-at-Sea, which partners Bayer scientists and Schooner Sound Learning
educators to teach students environmental science in the Long Island Sound.
The North American headquarters of Bayer Corporation Pharmaceutical
Division are located in West Haven and Orange, Connecticut. Employing more
than 2,100 people locally, the company's Pharmaceutical Division produces and
markets Cipro(C), Adalat CC(C), Kogenate(C) and Baycol(C). Scientists at West
Haven's Bayer Research Center are currently focusing their efforts on
compounds to treat osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes and obesity.
Bayer Corporation is a research-based company with major businesses in
health care and life sciences and chemicals. The company had 1998 sales of
$8.1 billion and employs more than 23,000 people. Bayer Corporation is
investing $15 billion in capital expenditures and research and development
from 1995 to 2004. 1999 capital investment and R&D expenditures are projected
to total $1.6 billion. Bayer Corporation, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, is
a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $31 billion chemicals and health care
group based in Leverkusen, Germany.
Key Survey Findings
Science Literacy and the State of Science Education
-- 100% of science teachers say it's important for adults to be science
literate; 68% say it is essential
-- 33% believe the general public views science literacy as not very
important for today's adults; 2% think the general public believes
science literacy is essential
-- 49% are not at all confident that elementary schools are providing
students with the kind of quality science education they will need in
the coming century
-- 29% and 23% report the same lack of confidence about middle and high
school science education, respectively
Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), the National Science
Education Standards and Science Education Reform
-- 57% of science teachers believe that TIMSS, which shows U.S. middle and
high school students performing substantially below those of leading
countries in math and science, is an accurate reflection of their
performance
-- 86% agree that science education reform as exemplified by the National
Science Education Standards will substantially strengthen science
education and improve student performance
-- 80% report having been personally involved in efforts to put the
Standards into practice in their school district
-- 78% say they have experienced barriers to implementing the Standards
including a lack of adequate time for planning (81%), science
materials and resources (58%), and financial support (45%)
-- 54% somewhat agree that the Standards are making a difference in their
school district
-- Only 17% strongly agree that the Standards are making a difference in
their school district
-- 76% strongly agree that without the active support of teachers, school
administrators and school boards, parents and other citizens, business
and industry, and the scientific community reform efforts will most
likely fail or fall far short of their goals
Scientists in the Classroom
-- 51% of science teachers believe it is very important for students to be
exposed to scientists and/or engineers; 29% believe it is essential
-- 95% agree that contact with scientists and/or engineers is an effective
way to help students better appreciate science and engineering as
careers
-- 48% say they have experience with programs that bring scientists and/or
engineers into schools to work directly with students, making class
presentations or demonstrations, or assisting students with projects
-- For those who participated in such a program, 75% say it helped their
students better understand science content; 87% say it peaked their
students' interest in science; 92% say it provided their students
with positive images of scientists and/or engineers; and, 85% say it
provided useful information about science careers
-- 71% of science teachers who have not had experience with these types of
programs say they would like to
-- Of those who would like to participate, 87% believe it would provide
students with useful information about science and/or engineering
careers; 83% believe it would provide positive images of scientists
and/or engineers; 83% believe it would peak student interest in
science; and, 65% think it would help students better understand
science content
-- 36% of science teachers report participating in programs that give
teachers the opportunity to work directly with scientists and/or
engineers on science curricula or other professional development
activities
-- Of those participating, 90% believe it helped them better understand
science content; 87% say it improved their teaching of science
content; and, 92% report it bolstered their motivation and enthusiasm
for teaching
-- 60% of science teachers who have not participated in these types of
programs say they would like to
-- Of those who have not participated, 78% believe it would help them
better understand science content; 72% think it would improve their
teaching of science content; and 78% report it would bolster their
motivation and enthusiasm for teaching science
SOURCE Bayer Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.bayerus.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/092575.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 092575
CONTACT:
Cynthia Carway of Carway Communications,
212-378-2020, or Laura Malis of Bayer, 203-812-6470, or Catherine
Sullivan-DeCarlo of New Haven Public Schools, 203-946-8450
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