Julia Nasrani-Wildfong says:

April 15, 2009 at 11:34 am

Copy of an email I sent this morning to senate president T. Murray:

Dear Senate President Murray, 4/15/09

As I see it Massachusetts has two big problems – a struggling education system and the economic downturn. Eliminating, as opposed to investing in, an excellent school for talented students in math and science will only further aggravate these problems. The students at Mass Academy of Math and Science/WPI public school are exceedingly bright and will be the ones to solve many of our problems through their innovations. Students here regularly create and research solutions for pressing problems such as developing alternative energy sources and engineering devices to help the disabled.

At the moment, I am sitting in my classroom with 8 students who are designing workshops for an outreach program called “SPLISH” for middle schoolers. They will be presenting seminars in order to fuel interest in math and science.

I just asked them to call out some of the projects they worked on this year so I could include them in this email.

Small Scale Solar Thermal Electrical Chemical Fuel Generator – cogeneration system - Ross and Ryan Lagoy (these brothers made this device out of some fire extinguishers along with copper tubing, stainless steel and wood.) You should see it – it is amazing.

Medication list entry yielder – Robert Le (he wrote a computer program for this for doctors to organize prescriptions and their possible side effects)

Fueling the future: Comparing the viability of invasive plants as ethanol fuel – Mary Devlin

Some of their engineering projects this term include:

Creating a device to help an individual woman with MS zip up her coat

Devices to help the elderly with arthritis

Each one of these students sitting here also does regular community service each week in addition to their research projects and rigorous class work.

The above information is only a small sample of activities from the 8 students who happen to be in my room right now! You should see what the rest of these guys are doing. In their sending schools, they would have neither the opportunity nor the support to do such things because there are simply too many other students to educate in typical public school settings.

Special education should include everyone who does not fit into the traditional school setting. We spend millions on special education programs and services – and rightly so. However, it is wrong and discriminatory to only include those at one end of the spectrum.

This country and the rest of the world is in danger because of unwise investments. This is an opportunity to make a good investment that will yield Massachusetts many economic returns in the near future.

China or Japan would not think of cutting such a program. That’s why they are outperforming us at every turn.

I implore you to read some of the stories posted on the following site created by a former student. I know you are busy and I know others are vying for money but I guarantee that Massachusetts would suffer economically in the long term by cutting out this public school. Math and Science innovations drive the economy of Massachusetts. Just look at the growing field of biotech.

http://savetheacademy.org/

Respectfully,

Julia Nasrani-Wildfong

Wildfong@wpi.edu

Incidentally, the faculty here all provide outreach programs and workshops for other teachers in this state and sometimes on a national/international level. We are a source of education innovation for other school systems in the state! Working at other public schools, we would not have the support or time to do this.

Selim Tanriverdi says:

April 12, 2009 at 2:56 pm

Hi, I’m Selim. I was looking to apply to this school next year. Currently i am a freshman in Algonquin Regional High School. My friend i met through FIRST robotics goes to the school. I have heard so much about the great oppurtunities there and was really interested in applying. So much as to set my sophomore schedule to take 2 math courses in a single year to apply there. I was shocked by the news when my friend had told me that the school would be pretty much dying over the summer. I’m here writing to help along with all these students, and parents to help the school stay alive. I feel very bad for all the people at the school. I hope that this effort helps the school survive.

Adam Skolnick says:

April 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

My wife was graduated from the Mass Academy and often speaks of how it changed her life. She has a passion for scientific research. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. in biology and developed her interest in research at a young age because of her training at the Mass Academy. If not for the teachers and experience at the Mass Academy, she may not have pursued her chosen career path.

At a time when the United States has fallen behind the rest of the industrialized world in math and science, we need a strong commitment to schools like this to bolster our educational system in these critical areas. Too many high schools fail to inspire our young people to dream and pursue the rigorous training required to excel. If we are to lead in the future, we must invest in our children’s education in math and science today. In our list of priorities as a nation, I can think of no cause more worthy, no cause more pressing, no cause more fundamental to the future of our economy than support for the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science.

Judith Sumner says:

April 17, 2009 at 7:08 am

Here is the comment that I left for the 4/16 Boston Globe article “State’s Bold New Vision for Education”

This article mentions “partnerships with universities” as part of the bold new vision for education in the Commonwealth. Yet such a model already exists in the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI, a school founded by the Massachusetts legislature seventeen years ago. MAMS provides a superior education in math, science, technology, as well as the liberal arts for one hundred grade 11 and 12 students drawn from many communities. Neverthless, the continuation of remarkable school is in jeopardy: MAMS funding is excluded from the current House budget.

Governor Patrick should visit the Academy to see what is already in place and functioning successfully in the Commonwealth. Current MAMS seniors are on their way to top-tier colleges and universities, and generations of MAMS alumni are working as successful professionals—in engineering, medicine, military science, R+D, and other fields. MAMS graduates will help to rebuild the economy of Massachusetts. The bottom line: we need this school now more than ever.

Incidentally, in terms of standardized testing, MAMS students earn both the highest SAT and MCAS scores statewide. However, the real value of the school is in the educational model and opportunities that it provides.

It would be nothing short of legislative malpractice to let this school close as a casualty of the 2010 budget.

Dawn Davies says:

April 13, 2009 at 7:25 am

Hi, I have always looked at MAMS as the best of what public education in Massachusetts could be. While I have no children old enough to attend MAMS, it is very important that MAMS remain a resource in our community. A need-blind institution supporting hard work and commitment, it provides for all students, whether attending or not, a goal to aspire to.

If I can help this outstanding community in any way, let me know.