{"id":660,"date":"2017-02-21T20:22:51","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T20:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/2017\/02\/21\/learners-leaders-2\/"},"modified":"2017-02-21T20:22:51","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T20:22:51","slug":"learners-leaders-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/2017\/02\/21\/learners-leaders-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Learners, Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">One in every eight students in North Carolina public schools has a disability. That\u2019s more than 190,000 people who need the expert support of the state\u2019s educators. Yet those students are also a potential wellspring of talent for the state\u2019s STEM industries.<\/p>\n<p>Enter the Catalyst program. Hosted by NC\u00a0State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/sciencehouse.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science House<\/a>, the program gives high school students with disabilities the hands-on learning and experiences they need to thrive in STEM fields \u2014 science, technology, engineering and math. The program\u2019s director, Joann Blumenfeld, is a local science teacher and former <a href=\"https:\/\/kenanfellows.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenan Fellow<\/a> whose passion is helping students with disabilities to overcome the stigmas and potential hurdles that stand between them and career success.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NC&#160;State: Learners, Leaders\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SCba6DPBqqU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of these kids do not end up in college,\u201d says Blumenfeld, \u201cand the ones that do, only about 7 percent study STEM careers. Yet <strong>many of our most famous scientists, from Edison to Einstein to Temple Grandin, had and have disabilities<\/strong>. The truth is that these students have great abilities and the key is using their strengths to help them meet their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blumenfeld does just that through activities that let the students get their hands on real science, from building circuits to dissecting chickens. Class sizes are small \u2014 around 10 students per session \u2014 so that everyone can get the attention and individualized instruction they need. And thanks to generous funding from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biogen.com\/en_us\/responsibility\/community-foundation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Biogen Foundation<\/a>, the cost for students\u2019 families has been kept low.<\/p>\n<p>NC\u00a0State has been instrumental in helping Blumenfeld harness the students\u2019 talents. A number of graduate and undergraduate students from across the university regularly volunteer to lead or assist in the teaching of Catalyst sessions. The Science House has supported the program with grant-writing and logistics, and it also provides a reliable home base for the program on NC&#160;State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/centennial.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Centennial Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>Catalyst exists because of collaboration<\/strong>,\u201d says Jason Painter, the Science House\u2019s director. \u201cThe Science House, the <a href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">College of Sciences<\/a>, our partners across NC\u00a0State and outside the community, including Wake Tech and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences \u2014 together, we\u2019ve made it possible to host these students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While most Catalyst attendees live in Wake County, some have come from as far away as Charlotte or New Bern, N.C., their parents driving hours each way to ensure their child doesn\u2019t miss one of the program\u2019s Saturday sessions. The students\u2019 disabilities have been wide-ranging, from autism to hearing impairment to Down syndrome. What all of the attendees have in common is the sense of teamwork and mutual support the program instills \u2014 not to mention clearer insight into the many STEM paths available to them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely made me more confident for college,\u201d says Austin Bach, a senior at Holly Springs High School. He&#8217;s one of two current Catalyst students applying to NC\u00a0State this year.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-426381\" src=\"https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/catalyst-team-banner.jpg\" alt=\"A group shot of the Catalyst InvenTeam in front of the banner bearing their name.\" width=\"1500\" height=\"844\" \/><br \/>\nThe first spark for the Catalyst program also came from NC&#160;State: Three years ago, Blumenfeld visited a veneer factory near New Bern, N.C., as part of the Sustainable Forestry Teachers Experience, which is organized by the <a href=\"https:\/\/forestry.ces.ncsu.edu\/forestry-and-environmental-outreach-program\/\">Forestry and Environmental Outreach Program<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/\">College of Natural Resources<\/a>. The factory tour guide revealed that staff were being brought in from Canada because of a local shortage of industrial mechanics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought: \u2018This is crazy, my students should be able to do this,\u2019\u201d says Blumenfeld. \u201cSo a big light bulb went off in my head, and I said, \u2018<strong>We need to start training our students to do more<\/strong>.\u2019 We need to develop a program that helps support them in their needs and experiences so they can then go on to succeed in STEM careers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of Catalyst\u2019s biggest successes to date has been taking part in <a href=\"http:\/\/lemelson.mit.edu\/inventeams\">Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams<\/a>, a national competition among budding high school inventors. With the guidance of NC\u00a0State faculty and students, 12 members of the Catalyst program have set out to develop a cost-effective pressure mat that screens for lameness in dairy cattle, inspired in part by visits to the Cherry Research Farm in Goldsboro and the NC\u00a0State <a href=\"https:\/\/cvm.ncsu.edu\/\">College of Veterinary Medicine<\/a>. Last October, they were selected as <strong>one of the top 15 teams in the country<\/strong> \u2014 and the first that\u2019s exclusively made up of students with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very excited,\u201d says Bach, who is among the 12 members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/catalystncows\/\">Catalyst InvenTeam<\/a>. \u201cMy dad was very excited. I told my robotics team [at Holly Springs High School] and they were very excited. My friend who wants to go to MIT was jealous of me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That win came with a $10,000 grant to build a prototype of the pressure mat. It also means a trip to MIT and Boston next summer, if the program can secure the funding to travel. Above all, it serves as proof of the Catalyst model: Blumenfeld can now see a future where the program spreads to the Science House\u2019s satellite offices across North Carolina \u2014 or is even emulated nationally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing I\u2019m proud of is that people often think of kids with disabilities as kids we need to \u2018help,\u2019\u201d says Blumenfeld. \u201cThey don\u2019t think of them as <strong>leaders and learners of science<\/strong>. But now these NC\u00a0State professors and grad students have met these kids and know they can do it. We\u2019ve opened up the whole university to these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blumenfeld is eager to credit those faculty and staff who have embraced the Catalyst program, including <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/2015\/09\/brilliant-innovators\/\">Alper Bozkurt<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/blog\/team\/jesse-jur\/\">Jesse Jur<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ans.cals.ncsu.edu\/people\/kamullen\/\">Keena Mullen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ece.ncsu.edu\/people\/enicole\">Elena Veety<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ans.cals.ncsu.edu\/people\/swashbur\/\">Steve Washburn<\/a>. She notes that NC\u00a0State colleges and units have opened their doors to the Catalyst program time and again, offering up their expertise and resources to the students. The <a href=\"https:\/\/dso.dasa.ncsu.edu\/\">Disability Services Office<\/a> at NC\u00a0State has also met with Catalyst attendees to let them know about the resources and accommodations the university provides to its students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNC\u00a0State has done everything,\u201d Blumenfeld says. \u201cAnd without the Science House, we wouldn\u2019t be sitting here. It does take a village to raise a child, but <strong>we\u2019ve taken the whole Wolfpack<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>(The original version of this article gave the number of students with disabilities in North Carolina public schools as &#8220;nearly 170,000.&#8221; As of 2014, that number is 193,092, which is 12.6 percent of the enrolled population. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/digest\/d15\/tables\/dt15_204.70.asp?current=yes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The National Center for Education Statistics<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This post was <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/2017\/02\/catalyst-program-disabilities-stem\/\">originally published<\/a> in NC&#160;State News.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false,"raw":"<p class=\"lead\">One in every eight students in North Carolina public schools has a disability. That\u2019s more than 190,000 people who need the expert support of the state\u2019s educators. Yet those students are also a potential wellspring of talent for the state\u2019s STEM industries.<\/p>\r\nEnter the Catalyst program. Hosted by NC\u00a0State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/sciencehouse.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science House<\/a>, the program gives high school students with disabilities the hands-on learning and experiences they need to thrive in STEM fields \u2014 science, technology, engineering and math. The program\u2019s director, Joann Blumenfeld, is a local science teacher and former <a href=\"https:\/\/kenanfellows.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenan Fellow<\/a> whose passion is helping students with disabilities to overcome the stigmas and potential hurdles that stand between them and career success.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SCba6DPBqqU\r\n\r\n\u201cA lot of these kids do not end up in college,\u201d says Blumenfeld, \u201cand the ones that do, only about 7 percent study STEM careers. Yet <strong>many of our most famous scientists, from Edison to Einstein to Temple Grandin, had and have disabilities<\/strong>. The truth is that these students have great abilities and the key is using their strengths to help them meet their goals.\u201d\r\n\r\nBlumenfeld does just that through activities that let the students get their hands on real science, from building circuits to dissecting chickens. Class sizes are small \u2014 around 10 students per session \u2014 so that everyone can get the attention and individualized instruction they need. And thanks to generous funding from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biogen.com\/en_us\/responsibility\/community-foundation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Biogen Foundation<\/a>, the cost for students\u2019 families has been kept low.\r\n\r\nNC\u00a0State has been instrumental in helping Blumenfeld harness the students\u2019 talents. A number of graduate and undergraduate students from across the university regularly volunteer to lead or assist in the teaching of Catalyst sessions. The Science House has supported the program with grant-writing and logistics, and it also provides a reliable home base for the program on NC State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/centennial.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Centennial Campus<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\u201c<strong>Catalyst exists because of collaboration<\/strong>,\u201d says Jason Painter, the Science House\u2019s director. \u201cThe Science House, the <a href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">College of Sciences<\/a>, our partners across NC\u00a0State and outside the community, including Wake Tech and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences \u2014 together, we\u2019ve made it possible to host these students.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhile most Catalyst attendees live in Wake County, some have come from as far away as Charlotte or New Bern, N.C., their parents driving hours each way to ensure their child doesn\u2019t miss one of the program\u2019s Saturday sessions. The students\u2019 disabilities have been wide-ranging, from autism to hearing impairment to Down syndrome. What all of the attendees have in common is the sense of teamwork and mutual support the program instills \u2014 not to mention clearer insight into the many STEM paths available to them.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely made me more confident for college,\u201d says Austin Bach, a senior at Holly Springs High School. He's one of two current Catalyst students applying to NC\u00a0State this year.\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-426381\" src=\"https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/catalyst-team-banner.jpg\" alt=\"A group shot of the Catalyst InvenTeam in front of the banner bearing their name.\" width=\"1500\" height=\"844\" \/>\r\nThe first spark for the Catalyst program also came from NC State: Three years ago, Blumenfeld visited a veneer factory near New Bern, N.C., as part of the Sustainable Forestry Teachers Experience, which is organized by the <a href=\"https:\/\/forestry.ces.ncsu.edu\/forestry-and-environmental-outreach-program\/\">Forestry and Environmental Outreach Program<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/\">College of Natural Resources<\/a>. The factory tour guide revealed that staff were being brought in from Canada because of a local shortage of industrial mechanics.\r\n\r\n\u201cI thought: \u2018This is crazy, my students should be able to do this,\u2019\u201d says Blumenfeld. \u201cSo a big light bulb went off in my head, and I said, \u2018<strong>We need to start training our students to do more<\/strong>.\u2019 We need to develop a program that helps support them in their needs and experiences so they can then go on to succeed in STEM careers.\u201d\r\n\r\nOne of Catalyst\u2019s biggest successes to date has been taking part in <a href=\"http:\/\/lemelson.mit.edu\/inventeams\">Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams<\/a>, a national competition among budding high school inventors. With the guidance of NC\u00a0State faculty and students, 12 members of the Catalyst program have set out to develop a cost-effective pressure mat that screens for lameness in dairy cattle, inspired in part by visits to the Cherry Research Farm in Goldsboro and the NC\u00a0State <a href=\"https:\/\/cvm.ncsu.edu\/\">College of Veterinary Medicine<\/a>. Last October, they were selected as <strong>one of the top 15 teams in the country<\/strong> \u2014 and the first that\u2019s exclusively made up of students with disabilities.\r\n\r\n\u201cI was very excited,\u201d says Bach, who is among the 12 members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/catalystncows\/\">Catalyst InvenTeam<\/a>. \u201cMy dad was very excited. I told my robotics team [at Holly Springs High School] and they were very excited. My friend who wants to go to MIT was jealous of me.\u201d\r\n\r\nThat win came with a $10,000 grant to build a prototype of the pressure mat. It also means a trip to MIT and Boston next summer, if the program can secure the funding to travel. Above all, it serves as proof of the Catalyst model: Blumenfeld can now see a future where the program spreads to the Science House\u2019s satellite offices across North Carolina \u2014 or is even emulated nationally.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe thing I\u2019m proud of is that people often think of kids with disabilities as kids we need to \u2018help,\u2019\u201d says Blumenfeld. \u201cThey don\u2019t think of them as <strong>leaders and learners of science<\/strong>. But now these NC\u00a0State professors and grad students have met these kids and know they can do it. We\u2019ve opened up the whole university to these kids.\u201d\r\n\r\nBlumenfeld is eager to credit those faculty and staff who have embraced the Catalyst program, including <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/2015\/09\/brilliant-innovators\/\">Alper Bozkurt<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/blog\/team\/jesse-jur\/\">Jesse Jur<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ans.cals.ncsu.edu\/people\/kamullen\/\">Keena Mullen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ece.ncsu.edu\/people\/enicole\">Elena Veety<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ans.cals.ncsu.edu\/people\/swashbur\/\">Steve Washburn<\/a>. She notes that NC\u00a0State colleges and units have opened their doors to the Catalyst program time and again, offering up their expertise and resources to the students. The <a href=\"https:\/\/dso.dasa.ncsu.edu\/\">Disability Services Office<\/a> at NC\u00a0State has also met with Catalyst attendees to let them know about the resources and accommodations the university provides to its students.\r\n\r\n\u201cNC\u00a0State has done everything,\u201d Blumenfeld says. \u201cAnd without the Science House, we wouldn\u2019t be sitting here. It does take a village to raise a child, but <strong>we\u2019ve taken the whole Wolfpack<\/strong>.\u201d\r\n\r\n<em>(The original version of this article gave the number of students with disabilities in North Carolina public schools as \"nearly 170,000.\" As of 2014, that number is 193,092, which is 12.6 percent of the enrolled population. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/digest\/d15\/tables\/dt15_204.70.asp?current=yes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The National Center for Education Statistics<\/a>.)<\/em>"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One in every eight students in North Carolina public schools has a disability. That\u2019s nearly 170,000 people who need the expert support of the state\u2019s educators. But those students are also a potential wellspring of talent for the state\u2019s STEM industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"ncstate_wire","ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-_from-newswire-collection-6"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}