As far as the future goes, Daryl Wernette’s looks to be as bright as the flame of a Bunsen burner. Although he has yet to graduate with his doctorate in chemistry, Wernette was recruited by among others Dupont and Unilever, both of whom hoped to lure him to work in an advanced science lab.
Owens Corning ended up hiring Wernette, who graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Wernette’s intelligence and science aptitude have put him in demand. He credits his success to hard work and the advanced high school classes he completed at the Math/Science/Technology Center (MSTC) on the campus of Ferris State University.
“Removing the MSTC from my past would certainly diminish the likelihood I achieve the successes I’ve had to date,” said Wernette, a Chippewa Hills School District graduate. “And I believe the same would be true for past, present and future MSTC students.”
In fact, success stories like Wernette’s are not uncommon for MSTC graduates. In a September 2006 alumni survey conducted by the center, 72 of the 72 responding alumni went on to attend college. They have gone on to pursue or graduate with degrees in everything from occupational therapy to forensic anthropology.
Now in its 16th year, the MSTC continues to create an environment that encourages learning and advancement. Funding is a huge challenge for schools in the Mecosta Osceola Intermediate School District, who give more than half of the state’s foundation allowance to the center to educate students for half the school day.
There are no “ordinary” students at the center. In fact, all students who apply to the MSTC as eighth-graders are screened to make sure they are among the best students in the ISD. Students must achieve a high score on the ACT PLAN test, have their math, science and English grades evaluated and have three teachers evaluate them on an objective scale.
Out of the 70 to 120 students who apply every year area-wide, the top 40 are interviewed by a three person interview team. There are usually between 26 and 34 students selected every year from those applications.
The center provides approximately 100 of the more than 10,000 MOISD students an accelerated curriculum in math and science for half of a school day. In turn, the center bills the local school districts one-half of what the districts receive from the state for funding.
On the bright side, the state has added $1 million to fund a state-wide middle school math professional development program to help all students perform better on their state tests. Several million dollars in federal money also has been made available for roughly a quarter of the MSTCs to participate in a collaborative Math/Science Partnership Grant with higher education.
The MSTC fits four years of high school math, science and technology into the students’ first two years in the program by teaching the subjects during both semesters. The final two years are spent preparing students with college-level course work, including student completion of a mandatory research project.
The whole point of education is challenging kids on every possible level, Wink said. The future rest on the shoulders of students like the ones that come through the MSTC.
“If Michigan wants to produce superior scientists, engineers, doctors and other professionals it needs to have a set of superior secondary institutions in place to give its brightest students the advanced education and guidance that these careers require,” she said.
For more information about the MSTC phone (231) 796-3543.