[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E862-E863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SCIENCE EDUCATION IN FREDERICK COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 2011

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize The Frederick County 
Public School District for its pursuit of bettering its science 
education programs. I visited Sherando High School in Stephens City on 
April 19 and saw firsthand how the school and its students are 
improving and excelling the fields of math and science.
  Kelley Aitken, the Frederick County Public Schools Supervisor of 
Science and Visual Arts, explained that ``the school division's science 
curriculum is moving from a fact/knowledge level of thinking to one 
which is based on conceptual understanding and application.'' The 
teachers have been provided with information from the University of 
Virginia's faculty on how to develop inquiry-based lesson plans.
  The school district has also changed its curriculum requiring 
students in grades six through eight to complete inquiry-based science 
projects every year. It is the district's hope that by engaging the 
students in middle school they will be able to carry that understanding 
and passion for science throughout their education. Mrs. Aitken also 
explained a number of community partnerships that the school district 
has developed. These include DuPont, the Blandy Experimental Farm, the 
Alice Ferguson Foundation, and Valley Health, which provide students 
with hands-on instruction in science.
  After Mrs. Aitken's presentation I was honored to meet with and learn 
about the students who have excelled in the district's science 
programs. I heard from three high school students and one middle school 
teacher about their experiences. The first student was a senior who 
worked with the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC), where he discovered 
a pulsar, a highly neutralized neutron rotating star. The senior along 
with the high school's Astronomy Club, analyzed data from the National 
Radio Astronomy Observatory in West Virginia. The student is going to 
pursue his interest in science at James Madison University.
  The next student, a sophomore, explained her project, which examined 
the effect of chemicals and pesticides on the regeneration

[[Page E863]]

of planaria. The student will be competing in the International Science 
Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles, California, in May. The next 
student, a junior, will also be competing in the fair for her second 
year in a row. The student used the Eratosthenes's Theory, to determine 
the diameter of the earth.
  A sixth grade teacher in the district's Robert E. Aylor Middle 
School, in Stephens City explained the Discovery Education online 
science module, which is used throughout the district in the middle 
schools. He explained that the program is used to let the students 
interact and manipulate investigations as they are learning science 
material.
  At the end of my visit, Superintendent Patricia Taylor was awarded 
the Discovery Education's Visionary District Award by the Vice 
President for Discovery Education. I am proud to have such an 
outstanding school in my district. I congratulate the school for 
recognizing the importance of providing our youth with the tools to 
pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

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