EAST

gives students unique experiences

by Earlene Ward - Yosemite High School

Some students at Yosemite High School have had a unique experience this week. They were responsible for installing a 14-station state-of-the art computer laboratory at the school as part of the EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) program.

YHS was one of 10 schools in California selected as an EAST site this year through a competitive grant process. The grant provides funds to purchase the computers and support the program. Through partnerships and special discounts, the EAST program is able to supply much more equipment than the value of the grant.

Thirteen students have been enrolled in a special EAST summer school program and, as part of that class, they installed the lab under the supervision of an EAST employee from Arkansas; Larry Pesetski, YHS EAST facilitator and Mike Cole, YHS EAST co-facilitator.

The EAST lab will operate on a full-day class schedule starting in August when school opens. The purpose of the program is for students to use the technology for service learning projects that benefit the community.

Jerry Prince, an EAST facilitator in Arkansas, spent a day and a half at YHS this week overseeing the installation of the lab. While he, Mr. Pesetski and Mr. Cole were available to oversee the projects, the students did the actual work. Mr. Prince stressed that the EAST lab is not like a regular classroom. Calling it “an awesome program,” he said it works “because the older people fade into the background and watch the students find their niche.”

The concept of a “facilitator” instead of a “teacher” intrigues YHS junior Jeff McKay who is one of the students in the program. “I believe the class allows students to fully express their imagination and abilities without the limits usually placed on students in a classroom,” he said. “The idea of a facilitator is interesting and I think it will work well.” The EAST concept is that students are responsible for their own learning and they have to solve their own problems. Mr. Prince told them they are not to look to their facilitators for answers to their problems; they are to solve them. “You are being put in a real-life situation,” he said.

He told the students the EAST program will challenge them in ways they’ve never been challenged before. “There will be uncomfortable times,” he warned them. “You may have to tell your best friend to get off his duff and get to work” instead of having the teacher tell him.

The EAST program started in Arkansas and has gradually expanded to other states. This is the first year for California schools but Mr. Prince says, it certainly won’t be the last. There are 54 new labs being installed this summer in several states. “EAST is growing at a tremendous rate because of what the students do,” he said. Students will work with community organizations to determine the service learning projects they will accomplish. The students’ involvement with the community will be a good thing, Mr. Prince says. “The students in the program here are quickly going to change the perception of what many people think of young adults,” he said. “They are going to change the opinion of a lot of people.”

He says the lab will become more and more known and more and more visible in the mountain area as the students begin their projects. Before the students started their task of installing the lab, Mr. Prince told them by next year they will be the experts and new EAST programs in California will look to them for advice. “You students will help provide the foundation for the entire state,” he said. The students who were involved in the lab installation had a special opportunity Mr. Prince said. “This is a warm, fuzzy thing, it won’t happen again,” he commented. He told the students that the things they will learn in the EAST program will be of tremendous value to them after they graduate from high school. “You can prove to folks that you have some skills,” he said. He noted that colleges don’t know as much yet about EAST as they would like. “They are still used to the old-fashioned desks, books and pencils,” he said. “Project-based learning is new.”

He did mention that the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is embracing EAST students and even offers scholarships. Mr. Pesetski noted that the EAST project schools in California will be submitting the course outline to the University of California for information. Mr. Pesetski is very excited about the EAST program and the opportunity to be the lead facilitator this first year. “Probably the most impressive thing I’ve seen about EAST is how it empowers kids to take control of their own learning,” he said. While they had planned to take two days to install the lab, the YHS students completed the project in a day and a half. “This is a credit to the 13 students and Mike Cole,” he said, adding that they got a jumpstart by the special summer school program.

“We have a group of 13 students who really know what EAST is all about,” he said. “They will mentor the other students in the program.” Mr. Pesetski said he and Mr. Cole hope the students will electronically connect all of the classrooms on the YHS campus as one of their projects. This would provide an in-house visual communications system to go along with the video studio that is being set up this summer. The ultimate goal is to produce an electronic Badger Bulletin every week to broadcast to all students. “This will be a very valuable addition to the school,” Mr. Pesetski said, adding that it could also be used for school-wide announcements on an as-needed basis.

Mr. Cole says it is exciting to see what students can accomplish when they are given control over their own learning. “I’ve already seen in summer school how much students can grow when they decide what skills they want to develop and what project they want to take on,” he said.

Nicole Grimm, a YHS sophomore, says the EAST program is “definitely student-driven. It makes you think; you can’t ask for help, you have to figure it out for yourself.” She believes that is a good thing.

As the lab neared completion Tuesday morning, Mr. Prince commented that there are “some great kids” at YHS with a firm foundation of what’s supposed to be going on through the EAST program.

Organizations or agencies with ideas for service learning projects can contact Mr. Pesetski or Mr. Cole at 683-4667.