Dearborn Center for Math, Science, and Technology
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| Dearborn Center for Math, Science, and Technology |
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| Motto | "Achieving Excellence" |
| Established | 2001 |
| Type | Public Specialized Secondary |
| Principal | Winifred Green |
| Students | 260 (Currently) |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | 22586 Ann Arbor Trail Dearborn Heights, MI 48127 U.S.A. |
| District | Dearborn City School District |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue, Orange, and White |
| Website | DCMST Home Page |
The Dearborn Center for Math, Science, and Technology (DCMST) is a specialized secondary education center with a four year advanced, research based, science and math curriculum located in Dearborn Heights, MI. Th school was founded in the year of 2001 with its first graduating class in 2005. The school sits mostly in the Henry Ford Community College building, but some of the Michael Berry Career Center building is used by DCMST also. About 75 students are selected each year from the three high schools in the Dearborn City School District. Once in the program, students are committed for four years. In freshman and sophomore year, students attend their three classes at DCMST in the afternoon from 11:15 to 1:55. Juniors and Seniors attend in the morning from 7:35 to 10:30. The other three hours are spent at student's home school. DCMST is a member of the NCSSSMST, a national organization of secondary schools that promote Mathematics, Science, and Technology, striving for excellence in projects centered around teamwork and curriculum.
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[edit] Teachers & Staff
Principal: Winifred Green
Secretary: Cheryl Guzik
Team Leader: Karen Pikula
Teachers:
- Donna Griffin
- Jennifer Gorsline
- Diana Hoehn
- Karen Pikula
- Natasya Shajira
- Kim Shawver
- Jeff Whittaker
As of January 6, 2007, Mrs. Corak will be taking Mrs. Shajira's place because of Mrs. Shajira having an administrative internship for the rest of the 2006-2007 school year.
[edit] Admission
DCMST takes admission applications from any 8th grade middle school student in the Dearborn City School District to fill all available spaces. These applications include a variety of information such as an essay, teacher recommendations, and standardized test scores[1] as not just a student's academic ability is used to decide whether that student will be admitted or not. There are around 180 students that apply for 78 spaces that are available at DCMST [2]. The available spaces are distributed to a pretty equal number of students that will be attending each of the three 'home' high schools of Dearborn High School, Edsel Ford High School, and Fordson High School.
[edit] Curriculum
The offered classes at DCMST and mandatory curriculum are changing from year-to-year as it is tweaked and changed to develop a program that flows together better with minimal review, especially in the math department.
[edit] Freshman year
- Honors Chemistry (Two Semesters)
- Honors Advanced Algebra (Two Semesters)
- Integrated Systems Management 1 (ISM) (One Semester)
- Scientific Investigations (One Semester)
[edit] Sophomore year
- Honors Biology (Two Semesters)
- Functions, Statistics, and Trigonometry (Two Semesters)
- Intro to Computer Science (One Semester)
- Intro to Research (One Semester)
[edit] Junior year
- Honors Physics (Two Semesters)
- Pre-calculus (One (Accelerated) or Two (Honors) Semesters)
- Dual-enrollment Calculus at HFCC or University of Michigan-Dearborn (UMD) (Optional if someone takes only one semester of pre-calculus; One Semester)
- Calculus Foundations (Optional if someone takes only one semester of pre-calculus; One Semester)
- Two semesters of electives
[edit] Senior year
- Dual-enrollment Calculus at HFCC or UMD (One or Two Semesters)
- Four semesters of electives
[edit] Electives
- AP Computer Science A (Two Semesters)
- AP Computer Science AB (Two Semesters)
- AP Environmental Science (Two Semesters)
- AP Statistics (Two Semesters)
- Independent Research (One or Two Semesters)
- Discrete Mathetmatics (One Semester)
- Forensic Science (One Semester)
- Honors Anatomy & Physiology (Offered every other year) (Two Semesters)
- Honors Genetics (Offered every other year - opposite years of above) (Two Semesters)
- Epidemiology (One Semester)
- Directed Study (One or Two Semesters)
- Nutrition (One Semester)
- Intro to Mathematical Thinking (One Semester)
- Product Design (Two Semesters)
- A Math, Science, or Technology-related dual-enrollment class at HFCC or UMD (One Semester)
[edit] Online Learning
DCMST has been involved in using the internet as a tool to connect teachers, students, and parents together. A handful of systems have been used over the school's history, but the current online system being used by DCMST is the iLearn system hosted by the Dearborn Public Schools website.
[edit] School Clubs/Afterschool Activities
- MC2 (Math Competition Club)
- Open Gym/Movie Night (Assorted Fridays)
- Open Computer Lab Usage (Assorted Weekdays)
- Starting in the school year of 2007-2008, there will be a club in association with the Michael Berry Career Center to constuct an eletric vehicle for a competition
[edit] Field Trips
Many of the field trips taken at DCMST do not include all students, but spaces are given out on a first-come-first-serve basis.
- A handful to local colleges and universities such as University of Michigan-Dearborn, Henry Ford Community College, and Wayne State University (Yearly)
- The Michigan High School Math and Science Symposium
- The NCSSSMST Student Conference (Yearly)
- Detroit Science Center (Depending on current special exhibit)
[edit] Special Events
- DCMST Science Fair (Yearly)
- Science and Engineering Fair of Metro Detroit (SEFMD) (Yearly)
- Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) (Yearly)
- Senior Honors Ceremony (Yearly)
- Internet Science and Technology Fair (ISTF) (Yearly)
- Probability Fair (Yearly)
- Celebration (The last Friday of every month)
[edit] Student Body
There are a total of 260 students that currently attend DCMST [3].
[edit] Student Leaders
For each year at DCMST, there are elections that take place for class leaders. During the freshmen year, there is a council of 4 students from each home high school that are elected for a total of 12 students that will lead the freshmen class in things such as fundraising. From the sophomore year to the senior year, a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected annually by the students of that class to serve in leading things such as fundraising and out-of-school activities such as a class field trip in their senior year.
[edit] Student Achievement
DCMST actively supports students in trying for scholarships, competitions, and more. Many students have won recognition at SEFMD and a few have even made it to the International Science and Engineering Fair put on by Intel Corporation. One competition that every student enters with a team of other students in their ninth grade year is the Internet Science and Technology Fair. There have been many teams from DCMST that have won recognition or made it to the finals of the fair where a website must be submitted on an invention dealing with science and technology. Many other students have submitted essays, research papers, and more to scholarship competitions such as those held by Dupont, Raytheon, and other corporations and organizations. There are many other competitions that DCMST students enter throughout their 4 years at the school.
The Academic Achievement Profile of all Students in the Senior Class of DCMST by Year[4]:
| Year | Number of Graduating Students | Average Number of AP Classes Taken by a Student by Graduation | Average Number of Dual Enrollment Credits Granted to a Student | Range of ACT Scores | Average ACT Score | Total Dollar Amount of Scholarships |
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[edit] Student Drop Outs
During the history of DCMST thus far, there have been numerous students that have choose to quit DCMST and resign from the spot that they had been awarded during the admissions process. These resignations usually come after the freshmen or sophomore year as students realize that he/she believes the program is too rigorous or that he/she does not want to go into a field involving math, science, and technology specifically. The latter is why many of the students who have dropped out have done so, as he/she wants to go into the arts. Many students that attend DCMST like both math, science, and technology and the arts.
[edit] Fundraising
Fundraising is done around the year at DCMST by the different grade levels. Each grade level has their own pot of funds to hold events with and to add to with their own fundraising intiatives. Some fundraising techniques that have been used include bake sales, t-shirt sales, cosmic bowling, penny wars, and the open gym/movie night.
Grants are another source of funds for all of DCMST as the grant money helps to pay for or lower the costs for the students for things such as field trips.
[edit] School Colors
The DCMST school colors were picked by selecting one color from each of the three home high schools in Dearborn. The blue is from Fordson High School, the orange from Dearborn High School, and the white from Edsel Ford High School. The logo of DCMST includes all three of the school colors as the points of a triangle.
[edit] School Improvement
In the 2006-2007 school year, DCMST staff and teachers have been pushing students to use credible sources and use proper citation formats when writing research papers and conducting projects. The teachers do not allow students to use Wikipedia as a credible source of information.
