Intel Competition Discussion

[Chris_Wendt]

at wantagh.patch.com/articles/video-two-intel-semifinalists-from-wantagh-explain-winning-projects#video-8959089

When I was a sophomore at Chaminade I won a National Science Foundation Grant and spent that summer doing hands-on cancer research using the then newly discovered DNA extraction protocol of Drs. Watson & Crick. One of my fellow teen-aged researchers was a sophomore from Wantagh High. We worked at a lab in Port Washington, as well as at NYU Medical Center and the NY Academy of Medicine in Manhattan. I wrote and delivered a paper titled "The Nucleic Acids of Viruses".

The following year I won a second NSF grant, and spent my Junior summer supervising younger teens on another cancer research project in Woodbury.

High-caliber experimental science research programs for Wantagh kids is not without precedent. But it does seem to have died without a proper funeral.

Is our entire community totally bereft of lofty expectations for our children? Passing tests is a pretty crappy expectation.

Unbelievable.

Chris Wendt

[Chris_Wendt]

Thanks to Newsday and News12, most of us are aware of the Intel project involving striped mussels conducted by Samantha Garvey from Brentwood at SUNY Stony Brook.

Yesterday I posted some detail about the Intel project involving altered genes and colon cancer done by Asia Brown, a student from Calhoun, also done at SUNY Stony Brook.

Today, in addition to looking at the THREE (3) Intel semifinalists' projects from Bellmore Kennedy High, I want to point out that the SUNY Stony Brook research program is NOT[/i][/u] the only route from Long Island to success in the Intel competition.

The three Kennedy semifinalists each used three different pathways to attain semifinalist status:

• Brookhaven National Lab
  
• Cold Spring Harbor Lab
  
• independent research at Kennedy High
  

The second important ingredient about the Kennedy designees is the fact that, although there were (only) three semifinalists from that school next door, there were FIFTEEN (15) projects submitted to the Intel competition from their school!

Please read about Kennedy High's Advanced Science Research program, here: merrick.patch.com/articles/kennedy-asr-program-produces-big-results

Now to the three Kennedy semifinalists...



Ross Shulman researched "the impact of elevated carbon dioxide concentration on crops" in conjunction with the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The bottom line for Ross is this:

"Researching and working in professional settings helped me learn how to overcome the obstacles I face. Discovering new things is also very important."

Read the stories about this project at:
bellmore.patch.com/articles/intel-semifinalist-ross-shulman, and at:
www.bnl.gov/today/story.asp?ITEM_NO=2829

Brett Gossett did independent research among 5,000 teachers across the country on the subject of "bias towards students with non-visible disabilities." His passion for this subject is motivated by his cousin who has ADHD and Tourettes Syndrome. Brett is a Junior EMT on the Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department. See the article on Brett at: bellmore.patch.com/articles/intel-semifinalist-brett-gossett

Ross Iscowitz' project, "A Behavioral Analysis of Auditory Decision-Making in Mice," was performed in conjunction with the Cold Spring Harbor Lab. On being designated an Intel semifinalist,

"It's unbelievable," Iscowitz told Patch. "It's an indescribable, shocking feeling."

In addition to his Intel project, Ross is also the founder of Tutors for a Cure, a Merrick-based business offering peer tutoring services for students from kindergarten through high school. Read more about Ross and his work at: bellmore.patch.com/articles/intel-semifinalist-ross-i

The following quote from the BNL news release is instructional for Wantagh's educational leadership:

"Long Island, New York: Some Place for Science!

[/b]"[/blockquote]

But Wait! There's More!

Brookhaven National Lab has an Office of Educational Programs which features:

OEP's High School Research Program

"Many high school students come to BNL through OEP’s High School Research Program. The program gives 11th and 12th grade students an opportunity to work with BNL scientists and participate in ongoing, important research and development programs. Mentors typically host students for six weeks during the summer, but if both mentors and students are able, a project can begin any time."

What are we waiting for? It's not rocket science. Although, I suppose it could be!

WE CAN DO THIS!

Chris Wendt

[javanights]

The one, clear message in all this is:
Wantagh's general public has come to expect that someone else, in this case the school system, should supply the motivation, push, financing and full responsibility for the growth, both physically and mentally, of any and all children born to the tax-payers in Wantagh.

The strides taken and set by Samantha Garvey are wonderful and need to serve as a reminder to everyone, that a person is responsible first to themselves and then to humanity.

For many years the mantra, "it's too expensive to enter into the Intel competition", has been used (successfully/unsuccessfully) to stay clear of the issue.
I wonder how much money came out of the school budget to get Samantha into the Intel competition.
How many will accuse the school system for not putting "their child" in the Intel competition?
How many more will resort to the mantra in response?
How many more people will try to take credit for someone else's success?


A person succeeds or fails mostly as a direct result of their vision.

[Chris_Wendt]

Excellent points!

While Samantha Garvey's family's misfortune of being homeless was a large factor in the amount of coverage and attention given to the Intel competition, there is much more to this story.

It turns out Samantha was not the first Intel semifinalist from Brentwood; she was the fifth. Brentwood had a record THREE (3) semifinalists last year: www.newsday.com/long-island/a-look-at-some-of-li-s-intel-semifinalists-1.2605070

Consider that Brentwood has less than half of the 'wealth' of Wantagh:

District.........PWR.......APWR.......CWR.......Compare
Wantagh......1.210......1.002.......1.106........224%
Brentwood....0.604......0.385.......0.495.........45%

where PWR is the pupil wealth ratio based on property assessed value, APWR is the pupil wealth ratio based on IRS Adjusted Gross Income, CWR is the Combined Wealth Ratio, and Compare expresses each district's CWR as a relative percentage of the other. The index is based on the NY State Average = 1.000

www.oms.nysed.gov/faru/Profiles/18th/wealt_indicators.htm

www.oms.nysed.gov/faru/PDFDocuments/WEALTHMEASURES0910.pdf

I don't think that Wantagh can point in any direction to find a legitimate "we can't afford it" excuse. The only place to point for that excuse is into the mirror, and yes, that certainly applies to me as well as to anyone else.

How do we get there, back into science research programs for Wantagh kids?

Leadership.

Vision.

Planning.

Determination.

Believing in ourselves.

Prioritizing how we use our tax dollars.

Putting children first.

Advocacy at every level, including internally.

Chris Wendt

[Chris_Wendt]

I received some great information from Jim Brown, Assistant Principal of Wantagh High. Paraphrasing:

''We do indeed have students who have entered a number of noteworthy competitions. We have students at Stony Brook, Brookhaven, Cold Spring Harbor..."

"...Wantagh does indeed have a good number of students involved in serious research. Moreover, we have more teaching staff involved in supporting this endeavor than ever before in the 23 years I have been in the district...."

I don't want to steal Jim's thunder as he is currently writing an article on this subject. I do want to clear the air about the fact that Wantagh's students are currently being provided real opportunities to participate in "high-caliber" science research projects with highly regarded academic organizations.

Thanks to Jim and the faculty who are involved with these efforts!

Chris Wendt

[lilly]

That is great news from Mr. Brown.

My question is what are the district's plans? What does Kathy Cahill need to accomplish the vision, if we have one.