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BIG BANG: Two Bloomfield Hills Tech Teachers Take Top DCX Fund Prize |
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Bloomfield Hills Schools teachers who were once student and mentor were each awarded $15,000 first place prizes from the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund Saturday, in recognition of their unique skills in energizing students’ interest in the fields of math, science, engineering and technology.
Lahser teacher David Zulkiewski of Royal Oak and BHMS teacher Allen Birkholz of White Lake were honored at a Detroit Science Center celebration for the Walter P. Chrysler Closing the Technology Gap in Education awards. They were among ten finalists from around the state at each of the elementary, middle school and high school levels. The cash awards go to their respective schools.
Zulkiewski was a student teacher with Birkholz in 1999, and the two continue to work together whenever possible.
“Chrysler’s initiative is a perfect example of the business community inspiring excellence in teaching,” said Dr. Steven Gaynor, Bloomfield Hills Schools superintendent. “Al Birkholz has long been a visionary in integrating academic and technology instruction. He has passed this heritage on to Dave, and both have and will influence generations of students.”
Zulkiewski, who teaches architectural drafting, engineering drafting and engineering applications for both Lahser and Andover students, looks forward to the cash award’s impact in his classroom. “I know the engineering department and students will greatly benefit from this and it will provide us with some terrific learning opportunities,” said Zulkiewski.
Birkholz concurs, and said, “I think this award proves that integrated learning experiences provide seemingly endless opportunities for students to experience the transfer of knowledge to new and different settings.”
Zulkiewski’s students bring designs to life in a modified industrial arts shop with race tracks and wind tunnels where they build and test projects. In addition, the district also has a partnership with the Oakland Schools Vehicle and Design Academy, where several juniors and seniors spend a half-day every school day working with engineers and designers in real world situations and settings.
"Dave does an outstanding job teaching his students the necessary technical skills needed to be successful in 21st century jobs," said Charlie Hollerith, Lahser principal.
Among the projects that Birkholz presents to middle school students is the design, production and racing of CO2-powered cars. His students design the cars in three-view isometric drawings, produce a mock-up model with high-density foam, then the final model from wood. Students then race the cars along a 60-foot wire and examine their results to see the effect of the car’s weight and length on speed.
“I believe Al Birkholz to be one of the finest educators I have ever had the privilege to work with. He is a role model both within the district and throughout the county and state,” said Kaarin Averill, BHMS principal.
For more information about the instructional opportunities available to students in Bloomfield Hills Schools, visit www.bloomfield.org, or phone the Community Relations office at 248-341-5420.
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