Dos Pueblos High Engineers Take Their Show on the Road

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/1127_dos_pueblos_high_engineers_take_their_show_on_the_road/

By Tom Blabey

Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce gets a lesson in robotics.

Amir Abo-Shaeer, director of the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, and several students recently demonstrated their capstone robotics project for the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, enthusiastically explaining the academy’s program at the chamber’s Issue and Policy Roundtable.

The Dos Pueblos academy is one of the most advanced engineering and science programs in California. The four-year integrated course of study offers classes in physics, computer science and engineering design. Hands-on curriculum culminates in the construction of a robot that competes on the national stage. In April, the robotics team finished second in its division in the international championship in Atlanta.

Abo-Shaeer and his students described to business leaders how the program’s combination of academics, technical innovation and entrepreneurship gives students the competitive edge and true mastery of the skills necessary to enter the work force and pursue post-secondary education.

Serving 128 students, the Dos Pueblos program accepts 32 freshmen per year. Fifty percent of the enrolled students are female, far surpassing the national averages for women in science and engineering.

In 2008, 80 students applied for 30 spots in the program as the success of the academy’s graduates have increased demand for entrance. The academy must turn away twice as many deserving students as it enrolls because of a lack of space and facilities. Currently, the program is housed in one regular science classroom.

To address those constraints on the program’s growth, the academy has embarked on an aggressive capital campaign to raise funds for a new 12,000-square-foot facility on the Dos Pueblos campus. The state Department of Education has awarded the academy a $3 million grant and by May the academy needs to raise the matching $3 million to help expand this opportunity to all interested students and improve the educational experience. The new facility will enable the engineering academy to triple enrollment.

The academy’s operational costs are offset with the help of generous support from the local high-tech business community, including Goleta Valley chamber members ATK, FLIR and Raytheon. For more information on how your company might support the program, contact the Goleta Valley chamber or e-mail Abo-Shaeer at amir@dpengineering.org.

Click here for information on how you can support the program through the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy Foundation.

Tom Blabey is the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce’s public policy director.

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/1127_dos_pueblos_high_engineers_take_their_show_on_the_road/