By Alyson Rocco, Principal Madera Technical Exploration Center (MaderaTEC)
MADERA TECHNICAL EXPLORATION Center staff has been hard at work creating the foundation of its school beliefs, practices and commitments to each other and to the community. During the last few months the team has defined the mission of the school as, “Madera TEC exists to build strong relationships with students and the community through project-based, career-themed education rooted in real-world experiences. Madera TEC is where students are empowered to learn by doing.” The vision has also been developed, “To transform education, we will use an integrated approach that keeps equity and evidence of student learning at the heart of decision making.”
Madera Technical Exploration Center seeks to accomplish this vision by engaging with the community, local business, and industry in order to move beyond the traditional approach to education. Madera TEC will inspire students through the use of the Graduate Profile to emerge as leaders ready to think, adapt, communicate, collaborate, produce, and contribute.
In order to transform education and bring life to the mission and vision, the team is committed to the following:
- Designing authentic, innovative, and creative projects
- Fostering collaboration
- Modeling integrity, empathy, and respect
- Establishing effective communication with all stakeholders
- Inspiring perseverance in the pursuit of excellence
December marked a milestone for the organization as the staff started recruiting and communicating the school’s concept to students and parents of Madera Unified. The Madera TEC team and MUSD communications department created videos to help students and parents visualize this new and innovative learning environment. Our team also worked diligently to help parents and students understand how they can get involved and apply to attend Madera TEC. Much of this information can be found on our bilingual website at maderatec.com. Below is some key information to know:
- Madera TEC will be a half-day program with AM and PM sessions
- It’s available to 8th-grade students in Madera Unified
- Transportation to and from Madera TEC will be provided by the district at no cost to parents
- Clubs, sports and all meals will be provided at the students home / current school
- Madera TEC will cover English, one other core subject (Science, Social Science or Math), ELD requirements, and a CTE elective in one block session
- There are no prerequisites to attend beyond being a MUSD student
- Students apply through their school counselor and will be selected on a lottery system
In addition to getting information out at Parent Nights, which were held on all three middle school campuses as well as at Virginia Lee Rose Elementary, the Madera TEC team met with all 7th grade students during their PE period. Teacher teams from each of the six labs; Agriculture, Engineering and Manufacturing, Entrepreneurship and Marketing, Health Sciences, Media and Performing Arts, and Public Safety, spent time planning ways to allow students to experience aspects of the innovative school environment that will become a reality in 2020. The challenge was bringing these hands-on experiences to students at their current site and in a short time period.
The Madera TEC staff decided to create six stations for students to get a glimpse of each career and some type of activity for students in which to engage. Some of these activities included basic CPR compressions, virtual welding, fingerprint lifting, and navigating a robot based on computer programing. They also got to see how video and audio are laid over each other to create animated movies and discuss what marketing tactics are used to promote successful businesses. Teachers and students also briefly discussed how the career lens they choose will impact other subject areas. Full lab descriptions can be found at maderatec.com. Student recruitment days left students wanting to join the Madera TEC family!
Madera TEC staff was encouraged by the unequivocal parent support and student excitement. They enjoyed student inquiry into the programs they have to offer and sharing what they have planned for the future. Although they started with the three middle schools; Desmond, Martin Luther King, and Thomas Jefferson, they also traveled to each of the K-8 schools for student demonstrations and parent nights as well in February. Madera TEC will notify students on acceptance into the program in early spring.
Helping students explore career options early and make connections between subjects and everyday life is a powerful and meaningful way of learning. The Madera TEC team is happy and proud to be serving the students of Madera and enjoyed taking their show on the road to recruit students and inform parents of this incredible and unique opportunity!!
