Programs

Dual Enrollment | Wheaton Community Survey | Admissions & Financial Aid | Library Instruction | Honor Code | Lecture Series | Field Trips | Performance

Dual Enrollment

The dual enrollment program allows academically eligible Northwood High School (NHS) seniors to take courses beginning in the fall semester of 2007. An orientation course will be taught on the University of Maryland (UM) campus during the summer of 2007 as a prerequisite for the dual enrollment program. Mentors and peer buddies will be recruited to work with each NHS student. Additionally, students will receive support at NHS through a class specifically designed for their needs. This support will help to ensure the students' continued success throughout the program and beyond, instructing them on the skills needed to be a successful student in college. The Maryland state legislature and Governor O'Malley recently passed and signed a bill into law that will provide scholarship funding for students who are enrolled in high school and taking courses at local universities.

Contacts: Adele Seeff and Michael Sullivan

Wheaton Community Survey Project

Since 2004, NHS students have conducted a community asset survey of a select area in the nearby community of Wheaton, MD, using PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) to record their observations. Alex Chen, Associate Professor and Director of the Urban Studies and Planning Program at UM, and Jill Coutts, Head of Northwood High School's Academy of Technology, Environmental and Systems Sciences, worked together to create this collaborative project. The overall goal is for Northwood students to complete a five-year study of the physical environment and the people of Wheaton. Students collect information about the streets and sidewalks, stores and services, and building uses and land uses. They also interview residents, business owners, and social service providers to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the community. This project will help them become more aware of their community by introducing them to community survey and analysis techniques using recent advances in PDA technology and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology.

Program organizer: Alex Chen and Erol Miller

Admissions and Financial Aid

Staff from the University of Maryland 's Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid give informational presentations to Northwood High School students to help them better prepare for the college application process. The presenters answer students' questions about financial aid and admissions and provide information about deadlines and the application processes.

Program organizers: Audrik Carrasco, Cynthia Davis, Sarah Bauder, and Shannon Gundy

Library Instruction

The University of Maryland Libraries provide library instruction for high school classes who have specific research projects which require use of research-level library collections. University librarians work with Northwood High School faculty who create assignments that involve university-level research.

Program Organizers: Tim Brennan and Diane Harvey

Honor Code at NHS

During the 2004-2005 academic year, students from the University of Maryland 's CIVICUS program discussed issues such as plagiarism, cheating, and honor codes with a group of self-selected students from Northwood High School . The purpose of the program was to create awareness among students at both the high school and the university about the issues related to integrity within an academic and social environment. The program culminated in a visit to the University of Maryland where NHS students toured the University, and participated in a round table discussion about the objective outcomes of the program.

The NHS Student Government Association is currently working with the UM Student Honor Council to create an Honor Code at NHS based on the UM Code of Academic Integrity.

Program Organizers: Sue Briggs and Michael Sullivan

Lecture Series

During the 2006-2007 academic year, professors from the Departments of Communication and Theatre visited NHS to give lectures on potential careers for Communications and Theatre majors. The audience consisted of students in the Great 2 LEARN (Let Everyone Achieve Right Now) program--a program for gifted but underachieving Northwood sophomores.

Program Organizers: Charles Alexander and Adele Seeff

In 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, students participated in a series of six lectures per year on the University of Maryland 's College Park campus. These lectures were given by different professors and focused on one aspect of U.S. History. The lectures emphasized the use of primary sources as a teaching and learning tool. After the lecture, students asked questions of the professor and had a small group discussion led by a graduate student. This series was organized in conjunction with Gilder-Lehrman Programs at Paint Branch and Eleanor Roosevelt High Schools .

Program Organizers: Jeremy Sullivan and Michael Sullivan

Field Trips

On Saturday, November 12, 2005, thirteen University of Maryland (UM) students and seven Northwood High School (NHS) students participated in the “Sustainable Engineering & Green Architecture - In Action!” field trip to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Building in Annapolis , MD. UM students participated in the field trip to complement a 1-credit course that they take as part of the College Park Scholars program. The field trip introduced a “green building” unit that will be part of the NHS students' Environmental Science course.

During the spring 2007 semester, UM students from the Environmental Studies Program and NHS students from the Environmental Sciences Academy hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail around Harper's Ferry.

Program Organizer: Wendy Whittemore

Imani Winds Performance

Great 2 LEARN students and their parents, Northwood representatives, and selected officials from Montgomery County Public Schools attended a welcome reception graciously hosted by the College of Arts and Humanities at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on Friday, October 13, 2006. Following the reception, the group attended the Imani Winds performance of Josephine Baker – A Life of Le Jazz Hot! Great 2 LEARN is a cohort of 60 gifted but underachieving Northwood sophomores.

Program Organizers: Charles Alexander and Adele Seeff