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 Week-Long Training Funded by Math and Science Partnership Grant through MSDE
During the week of August 10, 2009, thirty-one teachers from the Allegany County Public Schools participated in the Earth Science Rocks Academy at Frostburg State University. The Academy is a fifteen month professional development training that affords teachers the opportunity to enhance their background knowledge of Earth Science, technology, and pedagogy teaching skills.
 The Academy is funded by a Math and Science Partnership (MSP) grant through the Maryland State Department of Education, which was awarded to Allegany and Washington Counties and the Eastern Shore Consortium. Allegany County’s MSP grant has been funded for the past two years, with the grant’s content focusing on physics and chemistry. The focus for the 2009-2010 school year is Earth Science.
.JPG) Topics from the summer session included geologic time, formation of the earth, mineral and rock identification, stalagmites and stalactites, geodes, sedimentary, Igneous, and metamorphic rock formations, rock cycle, Steno’s Law, outcrops, Geologic age, USGS, plate tectonics, ocean floor, seafloor spreading, and Hawaiian Hot Spots. The technology components included throughout the week consisted of Inspiration, Google Earth, and Wikispaces. Teachers also had the opportunity to take a field trip to Swallow Falls to identify local rock formations and participated in a scavenger hunt. The week-long training session concluded with a fossil dig near Lake Gordon.
 Each year teachers apply to participate in the Academy’s five-day summer session prior to the school year, two pull-out days during the school year, and another five-day session at the conclusion of the school year. In total, teachers will participate in 90 hours of college-level content course work and can earn up to six MSDE credits at the completion of the Academy.
 Teachers are also provided with all of the professional development materials necessary to successfully participate in the Academy. This year’s materials included rock and mineral sets, ID testing kits, resource textbooks, convection flow demonstrators, demo cards of lesson plans, and mini laptops. Thirteen participants of the Earth Science Rocks Academy also plan to participate in a partnership technology grant and will receive a video camera and an iTouch to create podcasts in classrooms.
The Earth Science Rocks Academy training team consisted of Dr. Matt Ramspott, FSU professor; Dr. Phil Allen, FSU professor; Alyssa Gearing, Mt. Savage Middle School sixth and eighth grade science teacher; Kate Tummino, Bel Air Elementary School fifth grade teacher; Jill Keating, technology coach and Mountain Ridge High School media specialist; and Katie James, instructional coach. This training team meets several times during the year for planning purposes.
 Participants of the Academy are fourth through eighth grade teachers and include special education teachers and teachers from non-public schools as well. Coordinators from non-public schools include Jessica Mellon, Bishop Walsh; Tracy McKenzie, Lighthouse Christian Academy; and Kim Mason, Calvary Christian Academy. Allegany County Public School teacher participants included: Sheri Corley, Amy Duncan, Tonya Hensel, Elizabeth Miller, Jim O’Neal, Michele Deatelhauser, Edward Hampton, Debra Frankenberry, Betsy Green, Isabell Niland, Tim Farrell, Tracy Kirk, Lori Beeman, Marion McDonald, Ruth Webster, Virginia Fields, Wendy Ryan, Lisa Pressman, Sandra Baluch, Carolyn Jose, Alan Taylor, Amanda Nash, Stephanie Sharpless, Christopher Turner, Matthew Kline, Gene Lescallette, Jennifer Holloway, Jennifer Hughes, and Barbara Baros-Serpone.
 A special thanks goes out to Dr. Phil Allen and Dr. Matt Ramspott from FSU for hosting the Earth Science Rocks Academy and working so diligently with Allegany County’s school teachers. Dr. Tom Small, former FSU Geography Department chair, was also generous enough to travel with the group during their last day to provide a plethora of local geology information.
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