Emporia High School is in its second year of offering a team approach to teaching at-risk students. Freshmen are identified for this program in the spring of the eighth grade year by teachers and counselors. The purpose of the program is to expose students to hands on activities and computer uses in all subject areas. The major goal of this program is to equip students with job related skills prior to high school graduation.
In the beginning science course, the students are introduced to the Oklahoma Mesonet and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Projects in a weather unit. This information is available to the classroom over the Internet and requires students to use computers. The Mesonet is a network or environmental monitoring stations which collects weather data and makes it available for classroom use. The ARM Program is a long-term, worldwide research effort designed to assess the role that clouds play in the Earth’s radiative energy balance. Included with data access is the opportunity for students to chat with other science students in Oklahoma and Kansas, post current weather conditions, and a place to ask weather questions. Students are given the time and access to this information throughout the entire school year.
The Oklahoma Climatological Survey sponsors a weather science fair for students using the Oklahoma Mesonet or ARM data for their projects. As a class project, students are given the opportunity to participate in this science fair. The project is modified online by creating a web page. This competition allows individuals to become experts in a given area of meteorology.
The incorporation of the Oklahoma Mesonet and ARM Program in the weather unit has been very beneficial to the science program and the at-risk student. Because of the extensive computer use involved, students not only gain an awareness of weather and climate, but are also equipped with computer skills so needed for success in the workplace