September 3, 2013

Mayor Rahm Emanuel Attends Launch of New Cisco STEM Lab at Michele Clark High School

Of the five Early College STEM Schools, Michele Clark had the highest growth in Freshman On Track rate from the 2011-12 school year to the 2012-13 school year

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Mayor Rahm Emanuel attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Cisco STEM Lab at Michele Clark, one of the City’s five Early College Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Schools. At the beginning of the second year of Michelle Clark’s STEM School, the corporate partner Cisco added a new STEM Lab and a Cisco Network Academy, which teaches  students the skills needed to build, design, and maintain, networks—improving their career prospects while filling the global demand for networking professionals.

“Michele Clark High School is part of our larger education blue print to provide a quality education and prepare our students for college and career,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.  “In our 21st century economy, you earn what you learn.  Here at Michelle Clark, in the heart of South Austin, students are studying STEM subjects in state-of-the-art labs like this one and have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree, receive mentoring from accomplished professionals at Cisco, participate in summer internships, and be first-in-line for job-interviews when they graduate.”

Of the five Early College STEM Schools, Michelle Clark had the highest growth in Freshman On Track rate from the 2011-12 school year to the 2012-13 school year. Principal Buelah McLoyd also qualified for principal performance pay this year for an increase in student achievement.

Michele Clark High School is one of the Mayor’s five Early College STEM schools, which offers grades 9-14 coursework for students to have an opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate’s Degree at an accelerated pace in a highly specialized, technical field.  The five corporate partners –Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola Solutions, and Verizon Wireless – provide mentors, internships, and feedback on the curriculum to teach skills that would be valuable at their company. The schools were chosen specifically to represent each geographic region of the City, so that every student would have equal access to receiving a quality education that will prepare them for success in the classroom and in life.

Cisco’s partnership with Michele Clark includes bi-monthly events with Cisco employees, with problem-solving challenges, games, and mentoring. The Cisco Networking Academy will be one of 10,000 academies in 165 countries – to prepare students for industry-recognized certifications and entry-level information and communication technology (ICT) careers. Students earn vital 21st-century career skills in problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking. 

For more information about the Early College STEM schools, go to cps.edu/ecss.

 

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