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Marketing Prof. David Starr receives national recognition from DECA

Shoreline Community College Business Administration Professor David Starr has been awarded DECA’s (Distributive Education Clubs of America) highest honor, “Honorary Life Member,” for his dedication and service to the goals of the student leadership organization. DECA is an international association of college and high school students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship that supports skill development and competence for marketing careers. The award is given to only one individual a year. Starr will be recognized at this year’s International Career Development Conference in April in Atlanta, Georgia.

Persons eligible for this prestigious award are marketing educators who have contributed a minimum of 20 years of service to DECA and who have added significantly to the development and/or progress of the organization at the international level. Individuals are selected via a nomination process and voted on by members of the National DECA Board of Directors. Starr was nominated by former students, state advisors, DECA Honorary Life Members, and many others who have worked with him in the field of marketing education.

Starr has more than 30 years experience teaching marketing and management skills. The marketing professor joined the college chapter of DECA about 1977 while at Central Washington University and has been involved since that time at the college, high school, state, national and international levels. He has served as chapter advisor, Washington state conference coordinator, Washington state advisor, international competitive events coordinator, and served on the National Post-Secondary Council for three years as chair. This year, Starr will serve his fourth term on the national staff as an international conference coordinator.

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Toyota T-TEN Program receives national award
The Toyota T-TEN Program at Shoreline Community College is one of five programs nationwide to receive the 2007 T-TEN School Recognition Award from Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc.  The award is given to the highest performing T-TEN schools located at colleges across the country.   Shoreline also received the award last year.   

“We’re the only ones west of the Rockies to get the award,” says Matt Spitzer, Toyota T-TEN instructor at Shoreline.  Spitzer says there are 53 schools across the country that offer the Toyota program. 

Shoreline’s program was selected for its excellent implementation of the national training model, including placement of students at Toyota dealerships, meeting graduate objectives, maintenance of instructor and program certifications and compliance with Toyota training requirements. 

“The instructional quality is of high caliber,” says Toyota T-TEN/AYES Area Manager, Andrew Passage, “and the T-TEN staff, Matt Spitzer and former instructor, Jack Shiel, have done a great job of building positive relationships with the Toyota dealer body.”

The College was also commended for providing a Toyota professional-technical certificate through the Extended Learning program to support industry demand for certified technicians. 

Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. will host a celebration for Shoreline CC Toyota T-TEN graduates, students and faculty.  Spitzer says they will celebrate at a Mariner’s game this spring.  The Shoreline Community College program will also have preferential choice for donated cars and additional training aids from the manufacturer. 

The Toyota T-TEN program was started nationally in 1986; Shoreline started its program in 1987.  Shoreline CC works with 15 Toyota and Lexus dealerships across Puget Sound.  A total of 145 people have received Toyota certification through Shoreline’s program in 21 years. 

For information about the Toyota T-TEN program at Shoreline Community College, please call 206.533.6793 or check out the web site located at www.shoreline.edu/shorelinepdfs/plan/psAMToyota. 

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SCC supports Gov. Gregoire’s Math and Science Initiative
The market demand for employees with a solid foundation in math and science remains high in the state of Washington.  A year ago Governor Chris Gregoire announced the Math and Science Initiative to help Washington state math and science teachers develop better teaching techniques to improve student progress in this area.  The initiative was developed to respond to the falling Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) test scores in math.  The initiative supports the recruitment of more teachers and encourages additional teacher training and hands-on learning opportunities for students.

“The best way to grow our economy and secure a bright future for our students is to make comprehensive, smart, responsible and accountable investments in math and science now,” said Governor Gregoire when the initiative announcement was made. 

All community colleges, particularly Shoreline Community College, support the economic development of our communities and our state through educational and training programs for its citizens.   There are a number of critical programs underway at the College.

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Transition Math Project (TMP)
A number of studies have found that high school students across the country rank low in international math knowledge.  In fact, the National Assessment of Educational Progress finds that more than a third of those tested possess below basic math aptitude.  More than 20 percent of college freshmen were found to require remedial mathematics coursework, and 46 percent of high school graduates who enter Washington's two-year colleges directly after high school need to take pre-college math before they are ready for credit math courses.  Even more alarming, a student who passes the math portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) does not necessarily have the skills needed to handle college level math courses. 

The national Transition Mathematics Project (TMP) was designed to help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to move successfully from high school to college math coursework and ultimately into the global workforce. 

In 2006, Shoreline Community College and the Shoreline School District received a one-year Transition Math Project grant  from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that is renewable for up to three years to help high school students move successfully from high school to college math coursework. 

The grant provides for the coordination of SCC’s developmental math courses and the high school math courses with the new state readiness standards. 

SCC math instructor, Nirmala Savage and Shorecrest High School teacher, Marilyn Leverson are co-directors of the Shoreline Transition Math Project.  Now in the second year of the grant, the team is working to compare high school and college courses with the College Readiness Standards so that the gaps can be addressed and transitions can be smoother.

The grant also provided funding for the Social and Economic Science Research Center at Washington State University to track how well high school students from the Shoreline School District transitioned to college coursework at Shoreline.  They looked at the relationship between high school math courses taken and grades received, and how well students performed on college math placement tests and subsequent classes at Shoreline. 

Findings will be available early in 2008 and once the analysis is studied, the issues will be addressed.  These findings will be posted online at  www.transitionmathproject.org/standards.  Ultimately, the study’s impact will be to improve preparation for college-level work.  The desired results are still several years out as new curricula are designed, put into place, and completed by students who then graduate from high school with increased skills.   

A team of mathematics instructors at Shoreline have already developed a new course for students at SCC, called Mathematics Success Strategies, Math 081, which students take concurrently with beginning algebra.    The class is available fall, winter and spring quarters. 

At Shorecrest High School, teachers are teaching related units as modules in their regular math classes.  Shoreline faculty and Shorecrest teachers worked together to identify the important elements of Mathematics Success Strategies.

Other activities of Shoreline’s Transition Math Project grant include student outreach efforts and the use of Agile Mind software in Shorecrest math classes.

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Pagoda Union Building (PUB) to open after major remodel
After several years of anticipation, the new Pagoda Union Building (PUB) will soon open to students, faculty, staff and the public.  The original student union building, built in 1964, had not been renovated in the last 40-plus years and was in serious need of upgrading.

The new facility, built on the foundation of the former building, is a far cry from the earlier building.  Daylight and sunlight pour through large windows into large open spaces and small intimate spaces.  A quiet study lounge is an ideal alternative for those who prefer a casual and relaxed setting.  Students and staff will find ample meeting rooms, two beautiful dining rooms, a new state-of-the-art kitchen and food services area, and a game room.  A coffee shop will serve “grab and go” items, a convenience for those students who rush between classes.  New offices will allow Student Programs (the Arts and Entertainment Board, Campus Ambassadors, and support services for clubs and organizations), Student Government and International Programs to call the PUB “home.”  Other organizations such as the student newspaper, The Ebbtide, the Women’s Center and the Multicultural Center will also enjoy new offices in the PUB.  The College Bookstore will move from the FOSS Building to the lower floor of the PUB when all other program and offices have settled in.   

Food services, including deli and espresso items, will be provided by Chartwells, a division of the Compass Group. The vendor will focus on healthful menus that offer low-carb, low-fat, non-dairy and vegetarian options. Additionally, Chartwells will provide catering and vending services on the College campus.

The College looks forward to hosting community events in the new facility.  Rooms in the PUB will also be available for rent for community functions such as weddings, charity dinners, and meetings.  Contact Suzanne Gugger at (206)546-5863 or via email at sgugger@shoreline.edu for more information.

A ribbon-cutting is planned for later this spring.  The public will be  invited to attend a short program.  Watch for an announcement in your local paper.

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Student Dan Powers finds just what he wants at SCC Music Department

Dan Powers is in his second year of the vocal program at Shoreline Community College.  He transferred to Shoreline after attending another college and is grateful that he did,  stating that he was “blown away by the program here at Shoreline. There is so much opportunity for personal growth here,” he says with a smile and great enthusiasm.  “I feel I am going to be so much better prepared for a university program.”

The transfer student says he never thought of himself as a musical person, but he wanted to be.  In the sixth grade, he joined the school choir.  Dan recalls his mom answering his question, “Mom, am I a good singer?” After she broke the bad news that his singing needed some work, Dan didn’t sing again until his senior year in high school, when he auditioned for the school choir.

“The audition was extremely dreadful,” he recalls, “I couldn’t match pitch at all.”  The cards were on his side, however, as the choir director took him anyway.  That was the year Dan found his real passion in singing.  Although he got off to a rocky start, and was placed in a tenor role (he is actually a bass), Dan knew that this was the right path for him.

Sue Dolacky and Fred Lokken, two of his instructors at Shoreline Community College, find it hard to believe that he ever doubted his talent.  The two seasoned teachers agree that Dan is one of those people born to perform; a natural on stage. 

“Dan’s performance in last year’s Opera Workshop Performances was so impressive that he was given as many roles as possible this year,” says Dolacky.   Dan will play the main character, Sarastro, in this year’s one-act opera, “Die Zauberflöte” (“The Magic Flute”) by Mozart, and the lead role of Scarpia in Act II of “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini (singing it in the Italian language).  Dan will also perform in “Rusalka” by Antonin Dvorák. 

“The blend of roles provides an opportunity for him to play a dark, evil role, and in Tosca, a much kinder role as a high priest,” says Lokken.

Dan’s serious musical pursuits didn’t begin with voice, however.  His interest actually began when he picked up a guitar.  With a little help on the basics from his dad, the young man taught himself how to play at the age of 16.  His determination and natural abilities paid off and he soon found himself performing guitar in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at Bainbridge High School, and later, in the UW production of  the Who's "Tommy."

Dan has found the music program at Shoreline to be just what he needed, with his instructors focusing on his individual needs and ability levels.  It is a place that he finds so much support that he knows he will succeed. 

“Sue Dolacky was so great (when he first arrived at SCC) – she really helped me with basic techniques. And Fred Lokken is an amazing teacher – and the best conductor I’ve ever worked with,” says the young musician.

After graduating this spring, Dan hopes to enter the classical voice performance program at Seattle Pacific University.  He plans to get involved in music ministry as a music leader after earning his bachelor’s degree.  

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