News and Notes

LMA graduates serve the education community in a variety of ways. Listed below are examples of their activities and recognitions earned for their service:

• Melissa Parks (2006 graduate) for presenting at the NSTA conference in March of 2007 on the topic of Gender Roles In Science Classrooms.
• Trish Allanson (2003 graduate) for publishing her first book.
• Greg Rogers (1993 graduate) along with his colleague Bob Robinson were awarded Disney’s Teacheriffic Top Program Award in 2006 for their program “Junkyard Dawgs” Doing away with Garbage Surplus.
• Lois Dickison ( 1995 graduate) was awarded for Disney Teacherrific Award in 2006.
• Pamela Ferrante (1994 graduate) received her fifth Disney Teacherrific Award in 2006.
• Marilyn McClure (1994 graduate) was awarded the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship in 2003.
• Juli Townsend (1995 graduate) was awarded the 2002 National Science Foundation Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.
• Sharon Burnett (1993 graduate) was awarded the 1996 National Science Foundation Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching
• Pamela Ferrante (1994 graduate) was named as the National Science Foundation State Systemic Initiative Promising Practice Practitioner in 1995.
• Sandi Baldarossi, a current student, received a 2001 Fulbright scholarship to New Zealand.
• Diana Yoder (1996 graduate) was the Florida representative of the 1998 travel grant to Japan provided by the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program.
• Melinda Hamilton (1998 graduate) was a member of the writing team for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Stardards 2000.
• Nikki Clausen-Grace (1993 graduate) was the 1996 Orange County Teacher of the Year.
• Marilyn McClure (1994 graduate), Troy Beckwith (1998 graduate), and Denise Johnson (1995 graduate) were finalists for Orange County Teacher of the Year in 1996, 1997, and 2000, respectively.
• Over 50 graduates have been teachers of the year in their respective schools in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties.
• Fourteen percent of the graduates have been promoted to official leadership roles as Curriculum Resource Teachers, Assistant Principals, County Supervisors of Mathematics and/or Science, and Deans of Students.
• Thirty-seven graduates have achieved National Board Certification
• Two graduates are national consultants for Mathematics and Science for school textbook companies.

Graduates from the LMA program have proven to be highly motivated individuals, many of whom continue to grow professionally through formal education settings.

• 3.5% of the graduates have earned higher degrees (2 Ph.D., 3 Ed.D., 5 Ed.S.)
• 4.0% of the graduates are currently pursuing higher degrees (4 Ph.D., 8 Ed.D., 1 Ed.S.)
  

The Lockheed Martin/UCF Academy has been recognized by the Postsecondary Education Policy Commission as an exemplary graduate program. This recognition was given for the collaborative effort of business, university, public school systems and other agencies to create an innovative graduate program to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in public schools.

The Lockheed Martin/UCF Academy has been nominated by the College of Education as a Program of National Prominence.

The following is a list of some of the demographic data of the program graduates.

• 326 K-8 mathematics and science teachers graduated
• 24 K-8 mathematics and science teachers presently enrolled
• 133 teachers from Orange County Public Schools (5th largest district in the state and 14th largest in the nation)
• 841 teachers from Seminole County Public Schools
• 33 teachers from Osceola County Public Schools
• 21 teachers from other counties within UCF's service area
• 97% of graduates complete the program in 2 years (6 semesters)
• Attrition rate < 7%
• 83% of graduates remaining in central Florida
• 45% teachers remain in same school
• 28% made one school transfer
• 87% of graduates remain in K-12 teaching