Shoreline Community College has received a two-year $129,000 grant from the Amgen Foundation to support science education in Puget Sound area high schools and middle schools. 

The grant dollars, which support a directive from Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Washington State Legislature that science and math education be prioritized at our public schools, will provide funding for outreach efforts to high school teachers for integration of DNA technology into science curriculums, curriculum training for high school science teachers, and for the purchase of new classroom equipment. 

“Our relationship with the Amgen Foundation and the Amgen-Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Laboratory Program has allowed us to become close partners with local high school teachers to bring cutting-edge science to the classroom,” said Guy Hamilton, Ph.D., Biotechnology Program Director at Shoreline.  “This grant will allow us to continue development and expansion of our summer teacher workshops ultimately increasing the total number of students who will be exposed to Biotechnology in their high school courses.”

The Amgen-Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Laboratory Program was introduced in 1990 by Bruce Wallace, a molecular biologist who was one of Amgen's first staff members. Passionate about science education, Wallace helped establish the biotechnology program in local schools near the company’s headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California and organized a lecture series for the community. It was his hope that every student, regardless of the profession they eventually pursue, would have the chance to experience the joy of discovery and the excitement of having science at his or her fingertips.           

Implementation of the program in Washington began in 2006, when Shoreline worked with Bellevue Community College to develop the program in the Seattle Public School District.  Shoreline went on to expand the program into the Lake Washington school district and will now manage the program with plans to expand into the Lynnwood and Shoreline districts.

“This is great news for all involved,” said Susan Hoyne, Ph.D., Dean of Science at Shoreline.  “High school students will get top-notch, state-of-the-art training that will prepare them for their college coursework – and industry will see a well-rounded workforce.”

Shoreline made great strides during the first phase of the program (2006-2009) engaging West Seattle, Roosevelt, Franklin and Garfield high schools where teachers learned how to use the equipment and incorporate it into their own curricula. 

A total of 4,313 students participated as a result of the original program funding, experiencing hands-on activities and classroom presentations on career opportunities by Adrienne Houck, Program Outreach Coordinator Shoreline High School.  Houck also developed and delivered a summer program for students who were individually invited by their high school science teachers.  These students enjoyed a short, three-day program at which they had the opportunity to work in the college biotechnology lab and tour a local biotech firm. 

“The Biotechnology Program at Shoreline has an excellent reputation and is the only lab technician program in the Puget Sound area,” Hoyne said.  The school assisted the Shoreline School District setting up its biotechnology program at Shorewood High School and creating an articulation agreement in which students completing the year-long curriculum could earn college credit for the biology coursework completed.

Shoreline has provided biology and biotechnology programs for 20 years.  Students can earn an Associate in Applied Arts-Technology (AAS-T) degree which articulates with the bachelor’s programs at Seattle Pacific and Evergreen State universities and the University of Washington.  Shoreline also offers a one-year post-baccalaureate Biotechnology Lab Specialist Certificate designed for students with extensive backgrounds in math and science – 70 percent of students entering this program have bachelor’s degrees or higher.  They come to Shoreline for the hands-on experience. Shoreline was named the Northwest Regional Center for BioLink, a National Science Foundation ATE initiative to educate and train technicians for entry-level careers in research, development and bio manufacturing in the biotech industry.

About the Amgen Foundation

The Amgen Foundation (www.amgen.com/citizenship/overview.html) seeks to advance science education, improve patient access to quality care, and strengthen the communities where Amgen staff members live and work. Since 1991, the Foundation has made $130 million in grants to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Europe that impact society in inspiring and innovative ways, and those that provide disaster relief efforts both domestically and internationally.

About Shoreline Community College
The Biotechnology Laboratory Specialist Program at Shoreline Community College prepares students for careers in biotechnology research and development. The program goal is to provide practical, “hands-on” learning and familiarity with cutting edge techniques, technologies, and equipment. Students gain a working knowledge of molecular biology, recombinant DNA, immunology, protein purification and tissue culture -- both through classroom lectures and laboratory learning experiences. The curriculum also provides a foundation in a variety of math and science disciplines including algebra, statistics, chemistry, biology, microbiology and computer science.  http://www.shoreline.edu/science/biotechnology.aspx

                                                                               Donna Myers/PIO

A unanimous vote in Monroe has ensured that more than 600 Shoreline Community College students can stay in school for the education and training they want and need to turn their lives around.

On Monday, July 20, the Monroe School Board voted unanimously to approve a five-year contract with Shoreline for the Career Education Options/Learning Center North program. The CEO/LCN program is a partnership between Shoreline and King County that gives high-school dropouts ages 16-21 a chance to return to school.

“We’re grateful to find an education partner that shares our commitment to helping these young people,” SCC President Lee Lambert said. “These students are making a personal decision to better their lives. CEO/LCN is a successful program and we thank the Monroe School Board members for wanting to be a part of that success.”

Monroe had a one-year agreement with Shoreline for this past school year, but the new pact adds a needed measure of stability with the five-year timeframe.

“Monroe has a long history of thinking outside the box to help young people succeed,” said Rosemary O'Neil, communications director for the school district. “One size has never fit all and the Shoreline program offers another avenue for young people to gain the skills they need to be successful in whatever dreams they decide to follow.”

That an agreement is needed at all is a function of the state funding formula for these students.

In Washington, the state is obligated to provide an education through high school or age 21, whichever comes first. CEO/LCN students are under age 21, but due various circumstances, high-school based program aren’t an option. For so-called drop-out re-engagement programs such as CEO/LCN, the state funding that pay for the students comes through the K-12 system. To access those funds, Shoreline needs a K-12 public school system partner like Monroe.

“Without a partner like Monroe, we’d have to tell those students, ‘We’re closed,’” CEO program director Mariko Kakiuchi said.

State funding is based on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students in the program. Full time is defined as 15 credits in a college quarter. CEO/LCN serves more than 600 individuals a year coming to the program for education and training, which translates to funding at about the 290-FTE level, Kakiuchi said.

The agreement with Monroe means that each CEO/LCN student at Shoreline will also be, on paper at least, a student in the Monroe School District. Monroe will count the student for state tracking purposes, receive the state funding and then, after keeping a small administrative fee, pass the rest on to Shoreline.

“It means the college won’t count those FTEs, but there’s no reduction to our budget,” President Lambert said. “This comes at a good time when more students than ever are coming. Our summer student count was at an all-time high. Given the attention and focus on community colleges from President Obama on down, that trend looks like it will continue.”

SCC/Jim Hills

Above: Sunnyside High School automotive instructor Nick Paulakis rests his hand on an upside down GM diesel engine block as he asks a question during  a training session July 8, 2009, at Shoreline Community College.

Below: Chuck Nichols, from Marysville-Pilchuck High School, checks an error code in a Chevrolet truck as part of the week-long training program.

Click here for more photos.

Two dozen automotive instructors from high schools across Washington are converging on Shoreline Community College for 40 hours of training on the latest technology on the road.

And thanks to General Motors dealers across the state, it’s free.

“I know that the K-12 school systems are being affected by the economy like everyone else,” said Don Schultz, Director of SCC’s Automotive Technology Center. “Many of the school districts where these instructors are teaching the next generation of automotive technicians aren’t able to support this kind of training.

“Once I explained that to the GM dealers, they were happy to support the program. Not one of them said, ‘No.’”

What dealers said “yes” to funding are two, one-week training sessions with Patrick Koenen, the SCC instructor for the GM Service Technical College that is part of the college program. Koenen is literally a “World Class Technician,” the highest ranking possible by GM.

“The total cost of the two weeks is more than $4,000,” Schultz said. “This kind of support, at a time when the dealers are hurting, too, is phenomenal.”

Several of the instructors said that without the financial support, they would’ve gone without, ultimately hurting the high school students back home.

“This allows us to learn and then pass on to our students,” said Nick Paulakis, who has been the automotive instructor at Sunnyside High School for 26 years. “The first day, we were learning about the latest GM hybrids and last two days about latest advancements in diesels,” Paulakis said, adding that much of the training involves using computerized diagnostic tools. “When I was in tech school back in the ‘70s, they were saying things like, ‘Someday, there’ll be a computer in your car.’”

Paulakis said he usually goes to similar training at Portland Community College. “How can you pass up free?” he said.

Fred Donaldson, an automotive instructor in the Auburn School District, said that without the GM dealers’ support, he wouldn’t have been able to attend. “The district just doesn’t have the money for this kind of thing,” Donaldson said.

Chuck Nichols, the automotive instructor at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in the Marysville School District, echoed the sentiment: “Without the dealers’ help, I wouldn’t be here.”

SCC /Jim Hills

                                                                               Dennie Chong photo
State Sen. Paull Shin, a former SCC professor, speaks to
graduates at the 2009 Commencement, June 7, 2009.
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More than 300 Shoreline Community College graduates chose to "walk" at the 2009 Commencement ceremonies.

The featured speaker at the June 7, 2009 event was a homecoming of sorts for State Sen. Paull Shin, a former professor at SCC. Sen. Shin used details of his own life, a orphan on the streets of Seoul during the Korean War who earned a Ph.D and careers in education and politics, as an example to students of what can accomplished.

The student speaker was Genesee Rickel and faculty speaker was Bob Francis.

Yanderson Buonto, Somchai Samrerng, Mesin Tessema and Jose Corarrubias (from left) watch as Samrerng heats his Stirling engine for a speed test, Thursday, June 4, 2009, in the Shoreline Community College CNC machinist program area. (Click here for more photos)

Somchai Samrerng, a student in Shoreline Community College’s CNC Machinist program, knows how to turn up the heat on his fellow students, literally.

On Thursday, June 4, 2009, Samrerng won the friendly, but hotly contested Stirling engine competition. Conducted in the program’s on-campus machine shop, the competition was part of an open house hosted by instructor Keith Smith and other program officials.

“Somchai is in out three-quarter CNC machinist program and on track to graduate this spring,” Smith said.

It is an intensive program, preparing qualified students for entry-level machinists using CNC (computer numerical control) equipment. Basically, CNC machines are computer-controlled versions of the hand-operated versions. Students in the program learn programming and basic set up and operation of CNC machines, blueprint reading, shop mathematics, machine tool theory, inspection, surface plate techniques, and statistical process control.

For the contest, students built their own Stirling engines, machining all the parts except for some screws from scratch. Invented in 1816 as an alternative to the steam engine, a Stirling engine uses heat, converted into mechanical power by compressing and expanding a fixed quantity of air or other gas.  They are often called “heat cycle engines.”

On Thursday, students used a propane torch to heat one end of their engines, causing a wheel to turn. An optical device akin to an automotive timing light was used to measure revolutions per minute of the wheel.

While the basic design of all the entries was the same, subtle changes in wheel design, fasteners and other aspects resulted in significant speed differences. Samrerng’s engine topped out at just over 1,300 RPM while other entries were in the 800-1,100 RPM range.

The CNC Machinist program is eligible for several types of financial assistance programs, including I-BEST and Opportunity Grants. A new program, aimed at working adults with classes on weekends, is scheduled to start Fall Quarter, 2009.

The program is also the focal point of a recently announced Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant in partnership with the National Association of Manufacturers and Shoreline Community College. SCC and the program will be one of four pilot projects across the country to integrate a standardized skills curriculum with a manufacturing program.

SCC/Jim Hills