Public Forum to Draw Citizen Input for Potential Relocation of The Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center
Calhoun County citizens are invited to a public forum on the potential relocation for the Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center (BCAMSC), now located at 765 Upton Avenue.
Battle Creek, Mich. (Vocus) October 13, 2009
Calhoun County citizens are invited to a public forum on the potential relocation for the Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center (BCAMSC), now located at 765 Upton Avenue. The event, designed to gain public input regarding a potential relocation of the school and its distribution center, is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 7:00 p. m. in The Valentine Room of the Burnham Brook Center at 200 Michigan Ave W. in downtown Battle Creek.
Citizen input will help planners take the next steps of securing a location and obtaining financial resources to give students an improved facility and better education opportunities. The forum is the public's first look at conceptual presentations of the Center, if it were to be fitted into an existing building in downtown Battle Creek.
Presenters include representatives from Battle Creek Public Schools, Battle Creek Unlimited, construction experts and architectural firms that were contracted to investigate the possibilities of four downtown sites. The public will hear about evaluations on an improved curriculum, expanded technology, increased lab space, and broader opportunities to collaborate with downtown industry, such as the food science organizations and Calhoun County's largest employers.
In September, the Battle Creek Public School Board approved Battle Creek Unlimited to investigate funding in the form of public grants and private investment. There are no plans to utilize tax generated funds for the Center's relocation and renovation.
To date, presenters recommend the former cereal museum building in downtown Battle Creek as the Center's future location. The public will hear how evaluators selected this location over three other possible sites.
A proposed relocation to downtown Battle Creek could help expand the math and science curriculum, increase the educational kit sales and enhance student opportunities to work with and learn from the area's scientific employers.
The distribution arm of the BCAMSC is a unique entrepreneurial initiative providing science kits that meet state educational benchmarks for Kindergarten through 7th grade. Sales of these kits to outside school districts subsidize the Center's programs. Work-based experience for special needs students at the BCAMSC is a win-win relationship that allows students to gain skills that may transfer into future employment opportunities.
About the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center
The BCAMSC is one of 33 regional centers in the Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers Network. The BCAMSC provides leadership, curriculum support, professional development and student services to educators in Battle Creek area school districts. The curriculum fosters instruction on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for all students K-12. The center also houses a distribution center for the creation and sale of educational materials for nationwide schools. Sales of the lesson kits help subsidize the center's operations.
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