Partners

Harrisburg ICO has developed a strong relationship with the Marshall Math Science Academy, a 5th - 8th grade STEM focused school in the Harrisburg School District. The Academy is a locally conscious middle school that provides a 21st century education, which prepares students for a successful transition into high school. The curriculum is aligned with Pennsylvania State Standards, providing students with challenging experiences that allow for the application of knowledge. Through a project-based philosophy, the Academy fosters student creativity along with developing problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.  The Math Science Academy students:

•    engage in a rigorous project based curricula

•    apply their education through service learning and unique field experiences

•    become leaders within their school and community

Students who attend the Math Science Academy are from an impoverished and ethnically diverse community. The students represent more than a dozen different ethnic backgrounds. Ninety percent of the students receive a free or reduced cost lunch.

Harrisburg ICO provides a unique partnership for the Math Science Academy. With the primary focus at the school on science education, the outings provided by ICO create an opportunity for students to apply the knowledge they are learning in the classroom. ICO events take students outdoors, away from the blue screens of technology. The many once in a lifetime experiences on HICO outings ignite in the students an interest in the environment and in the natural world.

Teachers at the Academy are active partners with HICO. They talk with interested students about each outing; sending home permission slips and trip information to parents. Twenty students from their classes attend each HICO outing. Over the years, feedback from the teachers shows that time spent outdoors on an outing, does improve a student's work when they are back in the classroom.

Math Science Academy Participant Quotes