Contact: Jim Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--More than 40 middle school science teachers from around the state recently completed the ATOMS2XP Summer Institute at Mississippi State University.
The program, whose acronym stands for Advancing Teachers of Middle School Science, places student achievement at the center of learning by helping instructors hone their classroom skills, as well as by introducing them to new resources.
ATOMS2XP merges the expertise of university professors with the instructional skills of secondary teachers and the technology assets of Mississippi State's Center for Education and Training Technology, according to project director Betty Latimer, who also describes it as a "winning combination."
"Mississippi's middle school science teachers are more challenged than they ever have been. Shrinking budgets, fewer resources and larger class sizes have affected every school district in the state at a time when the expectations to achieve are intensifying, especially in science and math," explained Latimer, an associate Extension professor of computer applications. "ATOMS2XP helps teachers bridge the gap between instruction and learning by connecting with their students in creative, meaningful and effective ways."
The six-year-old program is funded by the Mississippi Department of Education and has four primary goals to:
--increase student knowledge by helping teachers develop in-depth content understanding and instructional methods;
--provide ongoing professional development for participants during the program year;
--link classroom practices to National Science Education Standards, the 2010 Mississippi Science Framework and the principles of Understanding by Design, or UbD, model; and
--encourage and facilitate skill enhancement and growth opportunities for 4th through 8th grade science teachers, including recertification and continuing education.
Forty-four teachers successfully completed the ATOMS2XP Summer Institute [alphabetical by hometown]:
BAY ST. LOUIS--Joan Estapa, Bay-Waveland School District
BROOKSVILLE--Johnnie Wells, Noxubee County School District
BRUCE--Suzanne Parker, Calhoun County School District
CARRIERE--Amy Yarbrough, Picayune School District
CARTHAGE--Barbara Fulton, Leake County School District
CEDARBLUFF--Trevia Brownlee, West Point School District
DEKALB--Don Stokes, Kemper Academy
FAYETTE, Ala.--Brenda Herren, Lowndes County School District
FOREST--Kathy Townsend, Scott County School District
GUNTOWN--Tia Green and Holly Martin, Lee County School District
HOUSTON--Shane Gann, West Point School District; Joyce Moore, Lee County School District
KOSCIUSKO--Dawn Kerr and Cindy Newsom, Kosciusko Public School District
LOUISVILLE-- Katie Hollingsworth, Karen Pearson and William White, Louisville Municipal School District
McCOMB--Gail Huff and Gail Knox, South Pike School District
MEMPHIS, Tenn.--David Cobb, North Panola School District
OCEAN SPRINGS--Rhonda Woullard, Moss Point School District
PELAHATCHIE--Donald Wall, Rankin County School District
PHILADELPHIA--Robert Mikell and Gloria Seward, Neshoba County School District; Paula Pankratz, Choctaw Tribal Schools
PITTSBORO--Niki Necaise, Calhoun County School District
SARDIS--Deborah Hibbler, North Panola School District
SHILOH, Tenn.--Beverly Henson, Corinth City Schools
SMITHVILLE--Martie Minga, Lee County School District
SOUTHAVEN--Cheryl Moore, DeSoto County School District
STARKVILLE-- Jessica Ferguson and Cindy McMaster, Starkville School District; Bertha Bush, Carolyn Rice and Teneasha Moody, Oktibbeha County School District; Lynn Russell, West Point School District; Brandi Herrington, Neshoba County School District
TUPELO--Tracy Leake, Lee County School District; Dale Stanford and Crystal Wilson, Tupelo Public School District
VANCLEAVE--Beverly Wise, Jackson County School District
VIDALIA, La.--Rashea Bailey, Natchez Adams School District
WALNUT GROVE--Stacy Chandler, Leake County School District
Additional information about the ATOMS program is online at http://atoms2.cett.msstate.edu/.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.