In this coordinated learning environment, 5th grade students will build on the science and math concepts studied at the base school. This coordination of curriculum will allow students to explore concepts more deeply over a longer period of time—utilizing hands-on activities and providing opportunities for critical thinking and real-world problem solving.
The Opening of the C3 Center in the Fall of 2006
as described by the Dalton Daily Citizen
C3 center ready to roll
By Victor Alvis daltondailycitizen.com
Posted: Saturday, September 2, 2006 11:35 pm
Much of the state’s efforts to improve education are geared to help students struggling to maintain “average” standards. But what’s being done to assist “gifted” students who seek challenges above and beyond the norm? Dalton Public Schools has created a new center — C3 — where high achievers in first through fifth grades can receive training above and beyond the state standards. “Teachers have to teach the Georgia Performance Standards to all students, but we’re pulling students from the core curriculum to reach for those big ideas where they can think critically,” said Priscilla George, coordinator of the Challenge Program for gifted students in Dalton schools.
The center is located in the former media center at the old Morris Street School, now the International Academy. The space is called “C3” — a name based on goals of “Making Connections, Thinking Critically and Extending Curriculum” — and students in each grade will be bused there one day a week, starting Tuesday.
George said her team of parents and Challenge teachers received approval on the C3 plan from Superintendent Orval Porter and the board of education in March. “At the beginning of last year, we began the process of creating what we have now. Dr. Porter told us to ‘dream big,’ so we dreamt,” George said. “We looked around the system to find space, and Phil Jones (principal of Blue Ridge Elementary and the International Academy) volunteered this space.”
About 200 people, a standing-room only crowd, squeezed into the C3 center for an open house last week. The space includes a 900-square-foot common area, a science lab with microscopes and a computer lab. The common area, painted in hip stripes and squares of trendy designer colors, looks more like a coffeehouse than a schoolhouse. Outfitting the center cost almost $30,000, funds that came from the system’s general budget. A lobby area features a painting of Einstein by local artist Lynda Forthman and a “C3” sign cut from metal. The sign was made by Habitat International, a carpet processing company based in Ooltewah, Tenn., well-known for hiring handicapped workers. Hans and Tonya Baaker, co-presidents of Advocates of the Dalton Challenge Program, assisted in the renovation. Hans Baaker, director of product management for Beaulieu of America, works with Habitat to create rugs. Shelves around the perimeter of the common area hold boxes of sophisticated Lego equipment that will be used by fifth-graders in a robotics program. They will be part of a Lego Robotix team that will compete with other teams from around the state in Atlanta.
“We’ll teach robotics every year, but we’ll have a different theme each year; the robots we build will have to complete different tasks,” George said. “Our teachers went down to Atlanta to be trained in the competition, and they acted like they were at the Olympics. They were so excited, they called me every day.”
The instructional themes for 2006-2007 at the C3 center include:
• Robotics and nanotechnology
• Archeology and ancient civilizations
• Forensic science/mystery unit
• Water ecology
Teachers in the Challenge program are Myra Owens, Brenda Ownbey, Tammy Poplin and Vanessa Rinkel.
Approximately 250 students are members of the Challenge program, with about 65 students being served at the C3 center on any given day.
Students are chosen for the program based on tests in four areas: mental ability, achievement, motivation and creativity. Students must score highly on three of the four tests to qualify.
By Victor Alvis daltondailycitizen.com
Posted: Saturday, September 2, 2006 11:35 pm
Much of the state’s efforts to improve education are geared to help students struggling to maintain “average” standards. But what’s being done to assist “gifted” students who seek challenges above and beyond the norm? Dalton Public Schools has created a new center — C3 — where high achievers in first through fifth grades can receive training above and beyond the state standards. “Teachers have to teach the Georgia Performance Standards to all students, but we’re pulling students from the core curriculum to reach for those big ideas where they can think critically,” said Priscilla George, coordinator of the Challenge Program for gifted students in Dalton schools.
The center is located in the former media center at the old Morris Street School, now the International Academy. The space is called “C3” — a name based on goals of “Making Connections, Thinking Critically and Extending Curriculum” — and students in each grade will be bused there one day a week, starting Tuesday.
George said her team of parents and Challenge teachers received approval on the C3 plan from Superintendent Orval Porter and the board of education in March. “At the beginning of last year, we began the process of creating what we have now. Dr. Porter told us to ‘dream big,’ so we dreamt,” George said. “We looked around the system to find space, and Phil Jones (principal of Blue Ridge Elementary and the International Academy) volunteered this space.”
About 200 people, a standing-room only crowd, squeezed into the C3 center for an open house last week. The space includes a 900-square-foot common area, a science lab with microscopes and a computer lab. The common area, painted in hip stripes and squares of trendy designer colors, looks more like a coffeehouse than a schoolhouse. Outfitting the center cost almost $30,000, funds that came from the system’s general budget. A lobby area features a painting of Einstein by local artist Lynda Forthman and a “C3” sign cut from metal. The sign was made by Habitat International, a carpet processing company based in Ooltewah, Tenn., well-known for hiring handicapped workers. Hans and Tonya Baaker, co-presidents of Advocates of the Dalton Challenge Program, assisted in the renovation. Hans Baaker, director of product management for Beaulieu of America, works with Habitat to create rugs. Shelves around the perimeter of the common area hold boxes of sophisticated Lego equipment that will be used by fifth-graders in a robotics program. They will be part of a Lego Robotix team that will compete with other teams from around the state in Atlanta.
“We’ll teach robotics every year, but we’ll have a different theme each year; the robots we build will have to complete different tasks,” George said. “Our teachers went down to Atlanta to be trained in the competition, and they acted like they were at the Olympics. They were so excited, they called me every day.”
The instructional themes for 2006-2007 at the C3 center include:
• Robotics and nanotechnology
• Archeology and ancient civilizations
• Forensic science/mystery unit
• Water ecology
Teachers in the Challenge program are Myra Owens, Brenda Ownbey, Tammy Poplin and Vanessa Rinkel.
Approximately 250 students are members of the Challenge program, with about 65 students being served at the C3 center on any given day.
Students are chosen for the program based on tests in four areas: mental ability, achievement, motivation and creativity. Students must score highly on three of the four tests to qualify.