Since its inception as a school of special emphasis, Friendship Academy of Math
ematics and Natural Sciences has worked diligently to lay a strong
foundation for its students by providing a high quality, well-rounded
program with a strong focus on mathematics and science. This enhanced
curriculum currently includes a K-5 science specialist, an intermediate math
specialist, and school-wide science and mathematics units of study
(interdisciplinary, theme-based research projects). The regular education
program strives to educate the whole child and provide that child with
unique opportunities to maximize learning.
Friendship Academy's curricular programs have been energized by a variety of
community businesses and organizations. There are established educational
partnerships with:
. PSCC- Parent / School Community Council
. FACES- Friendship Academy Collaboration for Educational Success
. BGC- The Bloomfield - Garfield Corporation
. FPG- The Friendship Preservation Group
. Citiparks Community Enrichment Program
. St. Margaret's Health Partnership
While recognizing the important contributions of these groups, there is an
ongoing need to develop more high quality educational experiences,
particularly in the areas of science and mathematics and to create
additional extra-curricular activities.
Through the Common Knowledge Project, Friendship Academy seeks to enhance
the educational program and bring unity and cohesiveness to the
established partnerships thereby creating a q wired community.
The involvement of so many groups and organizations in the educational
experiences at Friendship Academy is truly an asset. However, coordinating
schedules, sharing information, and uniting efforts are phenomenal tasks.
As a result of stakeholders' commitments to a variety of organizations,
their work and home responsibilities, their active participation in additional
educational endeavors of the school is sometimes necessarily limited. Through
the Common Knowledge Project, Friendship Academy will unify its curricular
programs and extracurricular programs by networking students, parent's,
staff, and community organizations in a wired
community.
The Common Knowledge Project will break through communication barriers. This
will enable students, parents. community, and staff to focus on providing
richer educational experiences. As outlined in our Comprehensive Education
Improvement Plan, programming for children will align more closely with
developmentally appropriate practices, providing for individual
differences.
At the heart of Friendship Academy's wired community will be a network of
classrooms communicating with one another, expanding upon the school-wide
science and mathematics units of study. These science and mathematics
interdisciplinary units are the core of the school's special emphasis and
have been incorporated into the curriculum and the CEIP.
The educational activity will be the development of three school web pages
representing the primary and intermediate grade levels and the school as
a whole. Friendship's students and teachers will have the opportunity to
contact these web pages highlighting recent areas of exploration and
discovery in mathematics and science. Classes will obtain information, further
explore related Internet links, and pose mathematical and scientific inquiries
of one another. Groups will be formed based on interests as students
research and respond to the posted inquiries through electronic mail.
Students will have access to the library's computer lab or a teacher's
computer during primary and intermediate lunch recesses, and more formally, as
a club after school.
The creation of school web pages will enhance communication and unite students,
parents, and staff in learning. Students of varying academic abilities and
grade levels will be able to share their knowledge with one another. A
school-wide data base will allow students to participate in
interest-driven learning tasks. By self- selecting topics from web pages for
further research, students will be provided with current information
surpassing that found in textbooks.
Both the primary and intermediate web pages will contain regular features.
Students will post the results of their findings on current science and
mathematics topics. The school librarian will list related books of
interest. The science specialist will provide child-centered experiments which
can be conducted at home with parent support. Classroom teachers and students
will post mathematics puzzlers and critical thinking problems.
In addition to its classroom network, Friendship Academy's wired community
will extend to neighboring schools. The school will be represented on the
Internet by a home page featuring its science and mathematics emphasis.
Features at this web site will include highlights from current science and
mathematics units of study, related Internet sites, and math puzzlers.
Students and teachers from other schools will be able to use electronic
mail to dialogue with Friendship students and staff about common math and
science interests. The benefits of the wired community linking schools
will also impact the language arts curriculum. A support group formed by
and for students will be established to build on their experiences with the
Western PA Writing Project which originated during the 1995-96 school year
at Friendship Academy and Fort Pitt School. During the school year and
summer, students took part in writing workshops which resulted in a
publication of student works. When the new school year began, however,
these emerging writers lost contact with adult leaders and peer collaborators.
Within the wired community, Friendship students will be able to these
young writers to publish current works and to share ideas and concerns.
On-line communication will not replace face-to-face conferences, but
contact with peer writers and adult leaders will acknowledge students' writing
efforts and provide further encouragement. Project leaders currently have
on-line capabilities and are prepared to mentor young writers through
technology.
Friendship Academy's home page will also be a vital link for community members
who wish to acquire information and participate in programs at the school.
The school's web site will list meeting times and minutes, topics to be
discussed. and opportunities for family participation in school
activities. Community members will be able to participate in meetings from
home or work site with on-line capabilities. Currently, members of two
community organizations, the Bloomfield - Garfield Corporation and the
Friendship Preservation Group, are on-line through Carnegie Mellon
University's Homenet Project. Parents, community leaders and Friendship
Academy staff members are presently participating in the project, using
computers with e-mail and Internet capabilities in their homes. In
addition, the local Carnegie libraries in East Liberty
and Lawrenceville offer computers capable of accessing school web sites on the
Internet.
The Common Knowledge Project at Friendship Academy will make the following
activities possible:
. Student newspaper club members will be communicating on-line with
Mr. Bill O'Driscole between meetings at school. Mr. O'Driscoll is a
member of the BGC, editor of the community newspaper The Bulletin, and
a particpant in CMU's HomeNet. ( See CEIP)
. The "Our Town" architectural club sponsored by the Architecture Department
at CMU will use internet access at Friendship (rather than travel to
CMU) to research projects. This group will have a web site to share what
they are learning with others. (See CEIP)
. The Friendship community will have access to the school library lab after
hours as an activity offered by the Citiparks Community Enrichment
Program. Classes would be provided for children and adults in the use
of computers, spreadsheets, the Internet and other programs.
. Friendship students will communicate with the FPG via e-mail regarding the
community improvement projects that the FPG co-sponsors with Friendship
Academy. Projects to be expanded include "Stash the Trash" community
clean-up day, "Adopt a Block." community beautification and
environmental programs ("Plant a Tree" project and the vacant lot
conversion to a park). (See CEIP)
. The After-school Program and Summer Camp students (sponsored by FACES) will
have use of networked computers in the school library lab. Students will
have use of remedial and enrichment programs as well as Internet access.
(See CEIP)
. To personalize award ceremonies, neighborhood sponsors honoring students will receive
information via e-mail regarding the students' achievements. The BGC and FPG have
sponsored the Most Improved Awards for the first semester this year. (See CEIP)
. Information regarding the activities and neighborhood outreach sessions offered by St.
Margaret's Health Partnership (St. Margaret's Hospital, the Allegheny County Health
Department and Fort Pitt, Friendship Academy and McCleary Schools) will be featured on
Friendship Academy's web page. Both students and parents could continue discussions by
posting questions on-line. (See CEIP)
. Friendship's wired community will celebrate the school's One Hundredth Anniversary in
1999. All neighborhood groups will be drawn together for the research and celebration of this
event. Being a wired community will allow the school and community to exchange
information and photos, plan joint projects, publish a booklet and create a web site. The
Senator John Heinz Regional History Center has agreed to host the resulting one hundred year
celebration display.
Friendship Academy's Common Knowledge Team envisions an interactive, wired community with the school as the hub. Teachers will endeavor to include Internet activities in the daily classroom work. Networked computers will be central to classrooms, with monitor images projected on a wall screen. In the science and library computer labs, the Internet will be a central research tool for student projects as well as teachers' lesson planning. The Internet will be a focal point for the school-wide units of study, for cultural enrichment, and for after-school activities and clubs. Parent Norman Beck has used his computer expertise to help last year's fifth-graders create a eomputer-based yearbook presentation. This school year, the yearbook will become an interactive experience designed by students with Mr. Beek's assistance. Viewers will be able to browse freely on the Macintosh, and select traditional yearbook photos which will be accompanied by audio and video clips. Science and mathematics challenge games, based on fifth-grade classroom activities, will also be included. Mr. Beck anticipates that the 1997-98 yearbook will be a web-based version giving the wired community the opportunity to experience the school year through the eyes of the fifth graders. Team member Joan Heineman s expertise as a graphic designer has enabled her to take digital photos, transfer these to decals, and affix them to T-shirts which are then awarded to Students of the Month. Ms. Heineman has also instructed intermediate students in word processing and is currently assisting students with computer projects such as the student newspaper and advertising the Wastebusters recycling project sponsored by the city of Pittsburgh. As part of the Wastebusters project, students will help to educate the community on the guidelines for recycling by publishing and analyzing data of the community's recycling efforts. This information will then be shared city-wide on-line. Team member Margaret Curtin is participating in CMU's HomeNet Project. She has used the Internet to research information for classroom and task force purposes. Mrs. Curtin has enhanced her curriculum for a gifted student by visiting web sites which appeal to his interests. She has compiled an annotated bibliography of related science and math sites which is available to other teachers, students, families, and community members. She agrees to show others how to access the Internet and to keep a binder available in the school library to which she and others can make contributions regarding web site connections. She has agreed to sponsor an after-school astronomy club. Team member and school librarian Cathleen Horowitz will establish a collection of the Common Knowledge Project lessons and educational ac~ivities to assure the availability of this material. She will continue her Internet Club and research period with the intermediate classes. As a member of the Common Knowledge Team, Ms. Deneen McCue has agreed to take a vital role in the implementation of the project. She will be responsible for keeping the primary grade level's web page up-to-date. Ms. McCue will collect student research writings from students and features from Friendship staff for posting on the web site. She will design an advertisement for district-wide distribution informing schools and communities of Friendship's math/science web site. She has also affirmed her dedication to the project by agreeing to sponsor an after-school nature club for students. Blanche Bennett~ Project Team Member and intermediate Instructional Team Leader, will be responsible for updatinc the intermediate level's web page. She will continue to team teach with other language arts teachers and the librarian to facilitate students' research projects in fourth and fifth grade. Internet access will be instrumental in Mrs. Bennett's planning of the school-wide mathematics and science units. Since the 1995-96 school year, Principal Carol Heyward has been instrumental in expanding the use of computers in the classroom as educational tools. Training was offered to staff end parents in word processing. An overview of the current computer instruction (LOGO programming and various software programs) was presented to parents. Friendship Academy hosted two Family Technology Night programs (Microsoft presentations) with Title I funding assistance. Ms. Heyward is committed to the teacher training and scheduling necessary to facilitate the Common Knowledge Project. Aggie Brose, deputy director of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporat~on, is a long-time community activist and is a member of the Parent /School Community Council. She has agreed to serve with Mrs. Heyward as school/community liaison. Training sessions on computer and Internet technology have been scheduled for the end of this school year and the beginning of the next. Teachers have already been assigned common preparation periods by grade levels. This time will now be dedicated to the implementation of the Common Knowledge Project. Recommended Internet sites will be posted in the weekly bulletin given to teachers each Monday morning.Teacher training will be on-going and scheduled during designated planning time after-school. Team members will assume the responsibility of sharing their technological knowledge with other staff.
During the past two years funds from Title I have been used to buy computer equipment for the science room and a primary classroom. Title I funds were also used for the services of Ms. Joan Heineman on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and for Mr. Norman Beck. Parent Norman Beck agrees to serve as Useradmin for the next two years. He has arranged for flex time at CMU so he can be at Friendship Academy each morning. He will use his expertise to help train teachers and community members, set up web sites, and for general trouble-shooting. He is interested in giving similar support to our community partners so they could have home pages on our server. In February 1997 Ms. Joan Heineman cemented her commitment to the Common Knowledge Project by starting to work on a flex schedule. Ms. Heineman is using time after regular school hours to help students with the "Wastebusters" project and the layout and printing of the student newspaper.Members of community groups have expressed interest in using the school computer lab when school is not in session. FACES will provide support personnel during their after-school program. They will also provide staffing during their summer day camp. The computer lab will be available for use by the Citiparks Community Enrichment Program during the evening. Friendship Academy will serve as a neighborhood hub by providing a web site on our server for each group and working with them to help them set up home pages listing agendas and meeting dates, calendars of events, minutes of past meetings, and neighborhood news. The Friendship Preservation Group has been approached about the creation of a web site which would list homes for sale in the area with photos and descriptions of each. As Project Team members are trained by Mr. Beck and the Common Knowledge facilitators, this expertise will be shared with community groups in addition to school staff. Community representatives are welcome to attend training sessions facilitated by Mr. Beck. Scheduling changes will be made when necessary to accommodate the project. Team members will be assigned a weekly duty period for facilitation of the project. These periods will coincide with Mr. Beck's morning hours. Team members will be given joint preparation periods at least once during the week and agree to devote after-school time to ensure the project's success. Team members have consulted with staff members at the Westinghouse and Liberty Common Knowledge sites. Friendship's team envisions an established partnership with Westinghouse High School through teacher Mr. Ed Henke. Westinghouse High School shares a common mathematics and science emphasis. There will be e-mail communication between Westinghouse and Friendship students regarding common academic interests. Friendship students can refer mathematical and scientific inquiries to their high school "buddies" for further investigation. There is a clear understanding of the required elements for successful implementation of the Common Knowledge project on behalf of all team members. Team members have made reference to their commitment in the affixed letters of support. With fifty-nine percent of the school population qualifying for free and reduced lunches, Friendship Academy expects to be eligible to receive Title I funds in the future. We plan to reserve a portion of these funds to provide support personnel, update computer programs, and to assist with computer repairs. Having a server will allow us to provide Internet access to all classrooms.
In order to implement the Common Knowledge Project at Friendship Academy these steps will
be required:
. Map out building wiring and designate equipment placement (May 1997)
. Train staff on Internet resources (June, August 1997)
. Provide students with introduction to Internet exploration (September/October 1997)
. Server on-line and install three school web pages (January 1998)
. Community groups mount their web pages on Friendship's server (January 1998)
The following team members will be responsible for implementation of the Common Knowledge
Project at Friendship Academy:
. Mr. Norman Beck- useradmin; conduct teacher training, trouble-shooting
. Ms. Joan Heineman- provide students with introduction to Internet, conduct teacher training
. Mrs. Margaret Curtin- curriculum liaison- providing staffwith curriculum links for the Internet
. Mrs. Cathleen Horowitz- create archives of Internet resources, facilitate library computer lab
. Ms. Deneen McCue- update primary level's web page on a regular basis
. Mrs. Blanche Bennett- update intermediate level's web page on a regular basis
. Mrs. Aggie Brose and Ms. Carol Heyward- school/community liaisons
Expected outcomes of a successful program will include:
. Strengthened Science and Mathematics programs resulting in enhanced student work and
documented in student work folders.
. Increased and improved communications between community organizations and Friendship
Academy as seen in increased e-mail communication and participation in activities designed
for the students and families
. Increased collaboration among students, teachers and members of community organizations as
evidenced in participation in joint projects.
6 mo. 1 yr. 2 yr.
. Teachers actively using the Internet in classrooms. 33% 60% 90%
. Students showing evidence of enhanced classwork through use of
Internet. 15% 30% 60%
. Students using the Internet in after-school activities. 15% 25% 75%
. An increase in number of parents/community members using the
computer facilities at Friendship Academy. 10% 25% 40%
. Number of web sites created for interested community groups. 2 sites 4 sites 5 sites