It started
as a field trip program, like many rink owners utilized. United Skates of
America had updated their field trip program, but never on a large scale. While
on a trip to one of their roller skating facilities in Baltimore, M.D., Karen
Palermo, President of United Skates of America, met with an educator named
David who taught math with roller skating as part of an educational field trip
to the rink. A little dismayed by the information lacking in the field trip
program, he suggested altering the field trip to encompass the STEM curriculum.
Being in the roller skating industry for more than a decade, her first response
to the idea: What is STEM? He gave her a background on the program and she went
back to the office and researched the program and how it was being integrated,
shocked at how applicable STEM was to the roller skating industry.
David was an
engineering professor at a well-known college and decided to take on the first
round of the STEM curriculum as it applied to roller skating, which ultimately
still needed considerable work, according to the United Skates of America team.
To get schools into the rink, Karen knew that it had to have an educational
component, and the curriculum had to be impressive to the administration and
the teachers in the schools.
After two
and half years of revisions on the USA STEM program and $250,000 invested in
making sure the program is the best it can be, they are thrilled with the
response school districts have had to the program and have opened it for
licensing to Roller Skating Association members for use in their roller skating
centers. “We know that, based on our year one results, that we are going to
continue to see a great return on our investment. We are very passionate about
this program,” says Palermo while speaking to a room of nearly 200 at the Sk8
Expo in St. Pete, Fla. “This program is going to change the roller skating
industry.”
The United
States is lagging so far behind in the world in science and math education that
it has fallen to 27th in the world. As a result, the education system in the
U.S. has taken on STEM in a nationwide push to advance our country in the hopes
of turning out leaders in math and science industries. Future jobs will rely
upon science, technology, engineering and math and at the current rate, the US
will need at least 1 million more professionals with a math and science
background over the next decade. If these numbers don’t improve, we will drop
well below 27th in the world.
The STEM
program gets kids excited about math and science. Mike Hudoba, an educator of
the roller skating STEM program and PhD candidate at Ohio State University said
of the program, “I can always tell it was a successful program when I have a
line of kids waiting to hug me before they leave.” Palermo champions the
program for being the force behind changing children’s lives, “We are literally
making an impact on these kids to think about and incorporate math and science
in their future. That’s where the jobs are going to be.” And because there are
so many STEM-based grant programs out there, schools can apply to grants for
these field trips making it a win-win for everyone involved.
No one wants
to have their doors closed during the day. The USA STEM program will turn your
rink into an educational learning facility for your area school system, but it
also has the ability to draw in school districts from more than 80 miles away.
The USA STEM
program combines verified STEM education, physical education and lunch into an
exciting format. This one hour lesson demonstrates the relationship between
STEM curriculum and roller skating. Students learn these concepts in an
interactive and entertaining way to enhance learning. The STEM portion of this
program is instructed by a trained, experienced educator, NOT A TEACHER, your
rink will hire who is knowledgeable on STEM and roller skating. Energetic
educators are a must!
An introductory lesson on roller skating will teach all skill levels with a 10 minute lesson demonstrating the basics. Lunch will then be provided during the three hour period following the lesson plan and then they will skate for approximately 2 hours. The lessons take place in the mornings, Monday through Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The best part? Lesson plans have been created for Grades K-12 that cover every aspect of roller skating and its relationship to STEM. The field trips are booked for a minimum of 60 students with up to 200 at a time. Schools normally book an entire grade level, which increases the number of prospects you have available to you by leaps and bounds.
First,
lesson plans are key. The benefit of the USA STEM program is that there isn’t
just one lesson for each grade level. Grades K-5 have 15 STEM lesson plans.
Grades 6-8 have 6 STEM lesson plans. Grades 9-12 has one lesson plan. In
addition, there are currently 17 more lesson plans in development. Offering
various lesson plans on each facet of STEM in various areas allows teachers to
choose the topic that best relates to what they’ll be discussing in their class
for the year. For large groups, music, math and roller skating is the perfect
lesson plan. The highlight is that the curriculum is constantly improved and is
done so with the state education requirements in mind.
Second, a
dynamic, intelligent and energetic educator who is passionate about STEM
education is absolutely key to delivering this program to students. “If you
take this program on, you can’t settle for a mediocre educator because it will
kill it [the program],” says Palermo. A complete job description and
information on how to find this educator is available once you license the
program. “Grad students are a great place to start. We love science and we love
money – because the schools we work for often don’t give us a lot of it,” says
Mike Hudoba, STEM educator for Skate Zone 71 and doctoral candidate in
mechanical engineering at Ohio State University. “The introduction is very
important. As you can imagine, getting that initial attention of the young
students is one of the most important things. Once you get that attention, you
can keep that attention and you want to show them something exciting. If you
have a great curriculum but not a great educator you’re only halfway there.”
The STEM
program doesn’t cover just the basics, it includes physics, astronomy,
chemistry, algebra, calculus, design, engineering, computers, biology,
geometry, architecture and medicine – all of which are included throughout
these lesson plans. “We show them connections to introduce the subject matter
with the science of music, the science of sound and then combine that science
of sound with math to create music,” says Hudoba. Roller skating centers are,
according to Hudoba, a gold mine for STEM. “The goal is to show the connection
between what you have at your rinks with STEM,” he says. “We have three topics
that feed into an overall topic.” For example, in a lesson plan about friction,
kids would learn things like:
The topics
don’t change from grade levels, but how they are taught and the level of depth
changes with grades. A good educator should be able to teach complex subjects
to all ages and have a passion to do so.
United
Skates has 17 locations and the average overall results for Year 1 (2014-2015)
are outstanding:
Those rinks
that didn’t market it and reach out to schools didn’t do as well as others, so
it’s important to remember that once you purchase this program and market it
heavily, your success is based on your motivation and commitment to the
program. It is also important to start as close to the beginning of the school
year as possible, before all field trips are scheduled. NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME
TO SELL STEM!
Packages are
set up in three different levels. Basic, which includes admission, skate rental
and STEM lesson. Deluxe includes everything from the basic package plus a slice
of pizza and a drink. And the Super Package, which includes all of the deluxe
items plus unlimited pizza and drinks. Most schools take the deluxe package and
pricing will vary based on your rink and location.
The STEM
program changes the way your community sees your business. Instead of being a
recreational facility, your business is now branding itself as a first class
learning environment where kids can not only come to have fun, but also to be
educated. Your business becomes more valuable to the community from day one
with the STEM program.
The USA STEM
program is a turnkey program, which means that they provide you with literally
everything you need to take to your school system and start booking STEM field
trips. The materials included are professionally designed and created with
every level of rink owner in mind. The tools are easy to use and the
step-by-step checklists show you how to go about launching the program in your
area.
An
electronic database of all STEM materials will be available to licensees of the
STEM program at www.usastemlibrary.com. Licensees will receive their own
confidential username and password to be able to access the STEM materials at
any time.
Licensees
will be provided with all of the information they need to hire a STEM educator
who can educate children, as well as attend sales meetings with your sales
manager; a complete equipment list of what you will need to make the program
work; every single marketing tool, including commercials, flyers, highlight
videos for teachers who wish to see more, and state standard example flyers
which you can customize quickly and easily in Microsoft Word; STEM training
videos and lesson plans; photos and images to use in your materials;
confidentiality agreements for educators; STEM program operational
instructions; videos to teach your own educators how to present the materials
and much more.
In addition,
checklists of how to market the program show licensees exactly how to launch
the program in their area. The STEM Program will also show you how to maintain
your STEM school database of every single teacher in your area to ensure that
you’re reaching the right people at any time, as well as how to utilize
Facebook and email marketing, templates, and more to boost your STEM program
sales.
Those who
license the USA STEM Program will receive complete support for the USA STEM
program. Access to the web-based library system, 24/7 access to marketing and
training materials, quarterly LIVE educator video/audio STEM training calls run
by USA providing training on the programs, as well as visits to USA facilities
to view STEM programs happening LIVE and to meet the USA management teams to
answer any STEM questions on implementation. In addition, you will have access
to top USA STEM educators to help you implement your STEM program and monthly
regional video calls with the top STEM Sales Producer for sales training.
Sign up is quick and easy. The RSA and the Roller Skating Foundation have paid for the rights to offer the program to RSA members. The cost associated with the program is minimal once you begin to realize the overall return on your investment. There is a one-time licensing fee based on facility volume and an annual renewal fee. To sign up to the program you must be an RSA Member. If you have questions or would like a pricing sheet, contact Lauren Fink, Regional Sales Manager for United Skates of America, at LFink@usa-skating.com or call 516-795-5474 Ext. 0. Lauren will help you with the contract, answer any questions you might have, and sign the form with you.
Once signed by USA, you will complete the remaining confidential
information and submit with payment to Tonya Crenshaw, RSA Accountant, at
accounting@rollerskating.com or by fax to 317-347-2636 with payment
information. If you have questions about payment methods, she can be reached at
317-347-2626 Ext. 111.