The Kings Mountain Herald
October 11, 2007
% EDUCATION
Destiny bus visits KMHS
EMILY WEAVER
i eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
Chemistry and Biology stu-
dents at Kings Mountain High
School met with Destiny on
Tuesday in the parking lot.
Destiny: Science.
Mercedes Humphries’ eight
o’clock Biology class came
aboard the hi-tech laboratory on
wheels, the Destiny bus, first.
Their case to solve in the lab was
the Mystery of the Crooked Cell.
In their hour-and-a-half long lab
exercise students discovered
“the molecular basis of sickle cell
disease by using gel elec-
trophoresis” to crack the case.
With gel electrophoresis, a DNA
separation technique, students
are able to distinguish normal
hemoglobin, a part of red blood
cells, from those with sickle cell
disease.
With the day’s special biology
lesson completed, it was time for
Kelly Grier’s Chemistry classes.
Her students tackled the task of
the Crucial Concentration. With
pipets in hand, they extracted
and transported chemicals to test
three unknown sports drinks in
an effort to find the one with the
highest protein levels. Destiny
educators Jane Wright and Lisa
Pierce and Ms. Grier walked the
young laboratory investigators
through their investigations.
Students were able to use
instruments and equipment not
found in the labs of their every-
day high school. They used a
spectrophotometer, a $4,000
piece of equipment used to
measure the characteristics of
light reflected from or transmit-
ted through an object. The pipets
they held in their hands are also
on the pricey side. “A lot of
schools don’t have this kind of
equipment because they can’t
afford it,” Pierce said. “But this
kind of thing is on their EOCs so
they need to. know this informa-
tion...This workshop is directly
related to the state’s standard
course of study. So, for the teach-
ers, it slides right into their cur-
riculum.”
She added that the traveling
SCHOOL BRIEFS
u
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
Left to right, Tasha Messick and Alex Plonk clean their test tubes
in the Destiny traveling laboratory, while Wesley Bell and Jake
Allen discuss their lab with KMHS Chemistry teacher Kelly
Grier.
science learning program started
through an “equity of access.”
From grants funded through
Glaxo Smith & Kline and their
equipment sponsor Bio-Rad, the
Morehead = Planetarium and
Science Center (MPSC) at UNC-
Chapel Hill was able to hit-the
road in 2000, bringing the gift of
modern science to yesterday’s
classrooms. The Destiny Bus has
traveled all over the state of NC,
providing programs for the
teachers who attend their work-
shops. Before students can climb
aboard Destiny, teachers have to
become familiar with the pro-
gram . and lessons through
(MPSC’s) workshops.
“This is a great opportunity for
students and for teachers, both.
We love coming to Kings
Mountain because they are all
just wonderful teachers,” Pierce
said, adding that Humphries
and Grier .are regulars to their
workshops. “These are our
favorite teachers.”
Humphries and Grier do not
stay in their classrooms and use
the Destiny bus visits as a day
off. They are right there along-
side the students in the bus help-
ing them with their experiments.
“I enjoy it,” Ms. Grier said, “and
the kids really like it.”
East Elementary to have
“McTeachers Night”
East Elementary School staff
members will be working at the
McDonalds on York Road at I-85
from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16.
A portion of the proceeds dur-
ing that time will go to the
school.
Fail festival is Friday
at Bethware School
Bethware Elementary School
will have its traditional fall festi-
val Friday, October 12 from 5-7
p-m.
Parents and children are invit-
ed. There will be fun, food and
games.
Planning underway for
Early College
¥ EMILY WEAVER
Sh : i
#08 eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
A local committee of about 30
members, most from the school
district and Cleveland
Community College (CCC), are
putting their heads together to
plan Cleveland County's first
Learn and Earn Early College
High School.
Cleveland County Schools
(CCS) and CCC recently
received a $40,000 grant to begin
the planning process. This new
age approach to education,
would allow a select number of
students the chance to receive
their high school diploma and
two-year associate’s degree in
five years, without ever having
to pay for a college class.
Initial plans detail that the
high school would be housed on
the CCC campus. “One of the
expectations with the Learn and
Earn Programs offered by the
state of North Carolina is that
the program be on a college cam-
pus,” said Superintendent Dr.
Bruce Boyles. “It makes the tran-
sition from the high school
requirements into the communi-
ty college experience seamless.
By locating the program on cam-
pus, the students have a better
focus on the objective of com-
pleting the diploma and the col-
lege degree.”
High School
If all goes well, CCS’ spokes-
woman Donna Carpenter said
the school “is to open with about
50 students next August.
Ultimately, some 200 students
may be enrolled in the five-year
program.”
“It is always exciting being
involved with the development
of a new program to help stu-
dents,” Boyles said. “The (30-
member) team working on this
new program includes our col-
leagues from the community col-
lege, community members and
school personnel. We have peo-
ple who work directly with stu-
dents and the administration of
the college all involved. Having
everyone at the table from the
beginning ensures that we will
have a quality program for the
students who will participate.”
“The local planning team has
divided into smaller committees
to address issues such as curricu-
lum, transportation, extracurric-
ular activities, publicity and
recruiting,” Carpenter said.
“They plan to visit early college
high schools in Rutherford,
Caldwell, Stanly and Buncombe
counties in the next few weeks.”
What will a Learn and Earn
Early College High School mean
to students in Cleveland
County? “It will mean some stu-
dents who may not be interested
See College, Page 11
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