The Roanoke River Valley Consortium (R2VC), consists of five predominately African American disadvantaged school systems (Bertie, 78%; Hertford, 73%; Northampton, 79%; Warren, 77%; Weldon City, 98%) located in rural poverty-stricken Northern North Carolina. Poverty has a reverberating effect on these children and their families, and also on these school systems where the students are in attendance. To decrease the gap between these disadvantages school systems and advantaged systems, the R2VC proposes to implement a comprehensive regional science and mathematics K-12 project entitled Partnerships to Enhance Student Achievement (PESA). The goal of PESA is to implement systemic approaches to increase the number of minority students enrolling in a successfully completing precollege courses essential to preparation for collegiate science and mathematics. To achieve this goal, an overview of the objectives are as follows: to deliver quality instruction and to sustain interventions in school science and mathematics education for minority students that will result in a significant increase in those who graduate and who are academically prepared to enter college and major in the sciences, mathematics, or engineering; to substantially decrease tracking and improve academic counseling to facilitate the successful transition of minority students from elementary to middle and from middle to high school into undergraduate programs in SMET; to stimulate efforts among secondary schools and colleges and universities, as well as relevant informal science organizations (e.g., museums, aquaria, etc.); to develop summer enrichment activities; to stimulate efforts to establish mentorship programs among professional organizations, business, and industry and network with programs supported by the federal and private sector to avoid duplication, to share resources, and to maximize available funding; to stimulate the involvement of parents and guardians and the business community throu gh partnerships in all aspects of the students' education; and to function in a complementary and collaborative manner with other funded educational activities (i.e., NSF,EPA, NIH, UDOE, etc.) through continuous dialogue. PESA has four major components: (1) staff development for educators (i.e., teachers, counselors, administrators); (2) student enrichment opportunities including field-trips, Saturday Seminars, Leadership Conference, career counseling, mentorships, Summer Enrichment Institute, and a challenging high school course of study (Ronald McNair Academy); (3) parental partnerships; and (4) business/industry partnerships. With support from the N.C. State Department of Public Instruction, Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina Central University, University of N.C. at Chapel Hill and business/industry, through memorandums of partnerships, this project will influence each entire school system in the areas of curriculum reform, curriculum enhancement, teacher enhancement, strategic use of resources, student enrichment activities, and summer enrichment activities. The curriculum shall be enhanced through such activities as Family Math, Family Science, Science and Technology for Children (K-5), Science and Technology Program (6-8), the Bob Moses Algebra Project, EQUALS, and the Ronald McNair Academy (9-12). Teachers shall upgrade their skills through training in the aforementioned areas as well as Gender/Equity Expectations for Student Achievement. In addition, teachers will be encouraged to accept summer internships in business/industry, higher education and federal agencies such as NASA and EPA. The students will be provided expanded opportunities in science and math. These activities consist of the following: Super Stars (K-5); Math Counts (6-8); Bob Moses Algebra Project (6-8); Student Challenge (9); Summer Enrichment Institute (9); Math Science Education Network Seminars (10); Math/Science Leadership conference (11); Mentorships (12); and Ronald McNair Academy course of study (9-12). Parents will be encouraged and supported in the establishment of a parent Partnership Program to function as a resource to the school systems and to enhance their involvement in their children's education. The evidence of program effectiveness in schools and classrooms used for validation by the National Diffusion Program Effectiveness panel shall be used for evaluation. The program effectiveness areas are specified in claim types. They are as follows: Claim Type 1, Academic Achievement; Claim Type 2, Teacher Learning Process; Claim Type 3, Positive Change Student; and Claim Type 4, Instructional Delivery. The evaluation results will show institutionalization os systemic changes which will result in an increase in minority students enrollment in and successful completion of precollege courses in science and mathematics; minority student academic performance; minority students choosing careers in science and mathematics; teachers using innovative instructional and motivational strategies; parental involvement; business/industry partnerships; and, utilization of available resources to enhance instruction. The results of implementing PESA will depict a project that can be implemented in whole or in part to meet the needs of students in rural and/or urban areas. ***
