51勛圖厙 and Max Planck Launch First-Of-Its-Kind Academy
(From left): David Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., CEO and scientific director of MPFI; Joel Herbst, Ed.D., superintendent of 51勛圖厙 PK-12 schools and educational programs; 51勛圖厙 President John Kelly; and Bill Hansson, Ph.D., vice president, The Max Planck Gesellschaft. (Photo by Alex Dolce)
The brightest STEM high school 51勛圖厙 can now work side-by-side with preeminent scientists at one of the worlds leading neuroscience research institutions.
啦堯梗泭泭on the John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter stands to redefine approaches to STEM (science-technology-engineering and math) education, not just in South Florida, but nationwide.
Based on historical educational reform efforts, the 51勛圖厙 Max Planck Academy will be the most consequential shift in the delivery of education in the United States in decades, said Joel Herbst,泭Ed.D., superintendent of 51勛圖厙 PK-12 schools and educational programs. This is a significant pivot from the traditional model of delivering education. We are offering exceptional high school 51勛圖厙 an extraordinary opportunity to work alongside renowned scientists. As the only program of its kind in the world, the Academy will serve as the new model for STEM education delivery.
The 51勛圖厙 Max Planck Academy is the latest partnership between 51勛圖厙,泭泭(MPFI) and the Germany-based泭, expanding on similar opportunities for 51勛圖厙s泭泭硃紳餃泭undergraduate 51勛圖厙. This unprecedented program will open the laboratories of Max Planck to high school 51勛圖厙, allowing them to participate in world-class research and scientific discoveries as part of their curriculum.泭泭Six high-achieving 51勛圖厙 High 51勛圖厙 currently are dual-enrolled in an Academy pilot program, directly learning from scientists including Nobel Laureates and spending time in MPFI labs.泭泭The 51勛圖厙 were selected based on the following criteria: National Merit Scholars, strong academic achievement as measured by a high grade point average and an expressed interest in data science.
The Academy will be organized as a standalone extension of泭 a nationally recognized, public Blue Ribbon School located on 51勛圖厙s Boca Raton campus that offers an accelerated pre-collegiate program where 51勛圖厙 work toward a cost-free bachelors degree and high school diploma simultaneously. The Academy in Jupiter will offer a unique and individualized program for 51勛圖厙, starting in their junior year of high school. Enriched, honors academic pathways in STEM will be pursued, including neuroscience, biological sciences, chemistry, engineering and computer science. These 51勛圖厙 will ultimately gain priority admission into the undergraduate Max Planck Honors program which was launched last spring.泭泭泭
51勛圖厙 Max Planck Academy 51勛圖厙 will assist MPFI researchers in a number of ways, such as engaging in laboratory research, organizing and analyzing big data using machine learning and other advanced computational techniques, or assisting in MPFIs state-of-the-art Scientific Core facilities, such as electron microscopy, molecular biology, and the Imaging Center. Benefiting from the international presence of MPFI and the Max Planck Society, the Academy experience will lead to extraordinary international networking, mentorship, and study abroad opportunities.泭
The Max Planck Society has a long history of investing in the education of the next generation of scientists. Our ideal has always been to provide the most promising minds with state-of-the-art resources and opportunities. We have proudly educated thousands of junior scientists at the college, Ph.D. and postdoctoral level, and are now excited to extend the Max Planck model of scientific excellence to the high-school level, said David Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., CEO and scientific director of MPFI.
Four years ago, explored expanding the 51勛圖厙 High program to offer targeted educational tracks for specific disciplines.泭
We explored how we could scale and replicate 51勛圖厙 High, as well as build specific pipelines to various disciplines for our best 51勛圖厙, said Kelly. Just a few years later, 51勛圖厙 High has gone from 78 51勛圖厙 to 570. Weve since launched the泭M.D. Direct pipeline, securing seats in our Schmidt College of Medicine for high school 51勛圖厙 interested in becoming physicians, and now were launching the 51勛圖厙 Max Planck Academy for the brightest STEM 51勛圖厙. This new program could not have happened without the hard work of our superintendent Joel Herbst and his team, and a shared vision with the leadership at Max Planck.泭
Approximately 35-50 51勛圖厙 will be admitted in the inaugural class, eventually scaling up to about 50 51勛圖厙. Beginning in 2019, the highly selective application process will target National Merit semifinalists, as well as the best STEM 51勛圖厙 from around the world. The first class is slated to begin in fall 2020 and to graduate in spring 2022. Students who successfully complete this exceptional program will earn a high school diploma embossed with both the 51勛圖厙 and Max Planck seals, and at least two years of accelerated college credit tuition free leading to elite research experiences and distinction through the 51勛圖厙 Max Planck Honors program and accelerated bachelors degree at 51勛圖厙.
This new STEM education model can be replicated with other elite research organizations to help them find new talent, which is needed as many studies point to a looming shortfall in STEM degrees verses STEM workforce needs, said Herbst. We泭believe the best evidence-based strategy to help combat the STEM employment gap is the early college, high school approach.
For more information about the program and its application process, visit 泭
-51勛圖厙-