The Merck Institute and its four partner school
districts have created an Advisory Committee to ensure
open communication among the five Partnership members.
The Committee is made up of Merck Institute staff and
administrators, teachers, and science and mathematics
coordinators from each district, to ensure that the
districts' needs are well represented. The Committee
meets several times each year to assess progress and to
devise new strategies and programs to help achieve the
Partnership's goals.
Volunteer Coordinating Boards at Merck sites in New
Jersey and Pennsylvania serve to keep communications
channels open among volunteers, teachers and
administrators, and Merck Institute staff.
To address communications problems, the Merck
Institute has taken a number of steps:
- Provided each Leader Teacher with a laptop
computer, not for the classroom, but to promote
communication via e-mail among Leader Teachers
and between Leader Teachers and volunteers.
- Established Listservs, to promote increased ease
of communication among all Leader Teachers.
Despite problems associated with the computer hardware
and software, and the training of teacher sin computer
use, these technology initiatives have already succeeded
in improving communications in the teacher population.
