Interested in joining a nonprofit board but not sure where to start? Why not start off learning about Big Shoulders Fund Auxiliary Board, the fastest growing young professionals board in Chicago! Learn how you can be an agent of change and make a difference in a child’s life.
Don’t take a chance on the lottery when you can change a life and guarantee your spot for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon when you run with Big Shoulders Fund!
Join the Big Shoulders Fund Racing Team and run the 2015 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 2015 Chicago Half Marathon, both races, or any half or full marathon you choose to enter.
Want more information? Click here.
In case you’re looking to give back to the community next month, join us for a Give Back Day!
You’ll be doing some deep cleaning, painting, and gardening, so wear clothes you can get dirty. There’s street parking available and a parking lot behind the school off of 83rd Street.
Click the link below for more details.
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Big Shoulders Fund schools have some of the most passionate and innovative teachers in the city. Ms. Melissa Talaber is the middle grade science teacher at St. Nicholas Cathedral School in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood and the winner of the prestigious Golden Apple Award in 2014. We sat down to talk to her about science education in Chicago’s inner-city Catholic schools.
Science, technology, engineering,and mathematics (STEM) education has been pushed to the forefront in education in recent years and has become extremely important. Why do you think that is?
Children today need a different set of skills than I or my parents did growing up. In current society, our children need to be able to compete in an ever growing and changing global market unlike previous generations.
Today our students need to be able to perform on the same level as students in Tokyo, Japan, Hamburg, Germany, and Oslo, Norway. Individuals need to be adaptable and engaged in continuous learning. Science lends itself to modeling the kind of thought processes that will allow today’s children to be successful and able to compete with individuals worldwide. Science is the path to the acquisition of the skills needed to be analytical and competitive.
How is science education evolving in your school?
Over the past four years with support from the Big Shoulders Fund, we have been implementing the Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) curriculum in the middle grades. I participate in ongoing training with Loyola University and for the last year and a half I have been training to be a teacher leader for science. I participate in the Loyola Teacher Leadership Institute (TLI). This year we have expanded our science program to include Full Option Science System (FOSS) inquiry-based science kits within the middle grades (starting with third grade).
Since the implementation of the SEPUP program, my instruction has developed into more collaborative, experiential work with higher levels of critical thinking. Students are no longer focused on memorizing a series of vocabulary words, science concepts and reading about science. My students are now developing skills necessary to be critical thinkers and are experiencing science through collaborative work.
Big Shoulders Fund schools’ partnership with Loyola (Center for Math and Science Education) and DePaul (Department of Math and Science Education) is vital to helping teachers develop the skills necessary to making science education successful. This partnership has provided necessary teacher training and classroom support with not only the use of SEPUP and FOSS, but also in better understanding and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards.
My students’ enthusiasm towards science and technology has definitely increased. My students that have been in the program for three years now are making amazing connections to personal experiences, past academic lessons, and thinking about the future and global impacts. Students are now excited about science even if it is not their favorite or strongest subject. I have seen not only improvement in their science content knowledge, but also improvement in their communication (oral and written) skills.
For the past two years you and your school have participated in Staddle Camp at the Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming. Please tell us about that experience as a teacher leader on the trip with your students.
Brush Creek is absolutely an amazing opportunity for inner-city students to experience our nation’s beautiful country side while meeting other students from around the city. This program does so much more than offer science enrichment. Our students develop leadership skills, build confidence, and expand their life experiences.
It also benefits the adults who share in the experience developing their own leadership skills. This program provides teachers an opportunity to teach and work with children in an alternative setting.
How and why did you become so committed to teaching Science education in Catholic schools?
I have always enjoyed science and appreciate the beauty of natural phenomena. I strongly believe in the value of a strong science program. A strong inquiry science program develops fundamental skills students need to be successful in their continuing education and beyond. All students should be given access to scientific experiences and exploration and challenged to think critically about the world around them.
Big Shoulders Fund would like to take the opportunity to than the following supporters that make possible the programs mentioned by Ms. Talaber:
Wendy and Dave Dury
Anne and Pat Gallagher
Robert E. Gallagher, Jr.
Robert E. Gallagher Charitable Trust
Motorola Solutions Foundation
Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust
Tengelsen Family Foundation
Beth and Bruce White
Big Shoulders Fund Middle Grades Science Initiative
And thank you for your special support of St. Nicholas Cathedral School:
Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union
Joshua Hale, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “The coordinated effort on the part of St. Florian and its surrounding community to build support for the school is truly impressive. It is clear that St. Florian is as important to families today as it was when it was founded 107 years ago. We couldn’t be happier that a Big Shoulders donor stepped up to meet the remainder of St. Florian’s fundraising goal, and send these students home for the holidays knowing their school will stay open.
Clearly, this is just another demonstration of the significant value these schools bring to the communities they serve. Big Shoulders is proud of our partnership with St. Florian and many other schools to help them develop a plan for long-term viability and to ensure their doors are open to welcome children for years to come.
Congratulations to the entire St. Florian community for shining a light on the great education provided by Catholic schools to children across the city.