The EAST Philosophy is based on the following educational principles:

· All students have value and deserve the opportunity to demonstrate their value to their school and community.
· Educational experiences must be relevant, challenging, purposeful, and Student Centered.
· The physical educational environment must include state of the art, real-world tools and reflect a work-like setting.
· Educators should serve as resource guides, managers, and learner facilitators.
· Learning should be self-directed as much as possible and oriented towards real-world projects that engage
· Students in independent and interdependent roles.
· High expectations must be individually established for all students and must drive their efforts to achieve their potential.

Based on these principles, the EAST model has been recognized nationally as an innovative, relevant, and successful approach to education. EAST students are experiencing an individualized self-directed, service-oriented project-based curriculum that is providing value to local schools and communities.

The EAST Initiative is helping educators recognize, create, and maintain a learning environment, which requires students to take the initiative in creating project solutions that produce measurable and tangible results. Students are exposed to strategies that help them move from the traditional self-centered approaches of learning into a more realistic (and more relevant) interdependent environment that stress understanding, collaboration, and team approaches to problem resolution.

Through an extensive professional development process, EAST teachers (facilitators) develop the capacity to stay focused on the intellectual development of their students and learn to evaluate student progress on actual performance in creative and problem solving areas. Teachers provide students with opportunities to experiment while using relevant tools. They allow students to make and profit from mistakes, which fosters the students' ability to become self-reliant

EAST is successful when it has a team concept and follows the EAST Philosophy. The program started in 2002 with a handful of dedicated students, facilitators (Chip Fenenga and Kim Merz) and strong school support. Administrators, Jerry Swanitz, Ron Green, Principal Norm Clevenger and Superintendent Dr Van Leuven from SYVUHS mentored the start of the program. Jerry along with Kim Cianciao /Merz, Sharon Ferrer (Counseling) and Julie Harris /Estabrook all traveled to Little Rock Arkansas in Feb of 2002 to see what it was all about. We went to Hot Springs, had great meals, laughed ("you the fiancé?") and learned about the program.

When we returned, the partnership began with help from EAST and their support team in Sacramento - Shelly Tate, Bruce Jones with CDE and the work of Dr Joyce Hinkson and our local school board. Malcolm and Bonnie from CAST started the GIS and GPS component of the class. Teachers and students took classes in Sacramento and used the EAST list serve to further their technical trainings. Nick Mazza got us on the board with early web site and networking skills. Clay Garland and Tim Manchester became the "go-to guys" for GIS. Jeff Hubbard became the Photoshop wizard that started us on that path, including a GREAT Hwy 154 poster that we copy today. Eric Reif and Ginger Dolyak became the animation kings. Stunning Microsoft and Powerpoint work was turned in by Jessie Gavlak and Clarice Weatherford that won awards and helped many. Mikey Carlson started us out on Microstation with spectacular school maps. The initial problem solving of Matt Pederson and Kevin McDonald made sure everything worked in the lab. Matt built the plotter and got it working. Kelly Joos, Megan Jones, along with Jenna Pagaling created magic with the computers helping many classes and teachers. There were others that first year and they all helped start the revolution.

Tools that we have available to the students are:

1. GIS and GPS - Trimble GPS rovers and cradles, Pathfinder Office, GeoMedia Professional, MFWorks, MF TeachArcView 3.3, 8.0, ArcGI, S 9.0, ArcPad, Mapserver [http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/], Garmin e-trex, Didger, Maptech Marine Navigator, PixPoint, Mappublisher 5.0, Orion, MapdataUSA 2K, Airphoto USA, DeLorme Topo,

2. Animation - Flash 5, SoftImage, Animation Master, 3D Studio Max, Poser 5, VUE

3. Photography and Art - Kodak DC 3400 digital cameras, Nikon Cameras, HP Scanner, Wacom tablets, Adobe Photoshop 7.0, Microsoft Paint, Painter Classic, Deep Paint with Texture Weapons, Vue 4.0 Professional, World Construction Set, ACD See, ArcSoft , Auto FX filters

4. Web Production - Microsoft Front Page, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Shockwave, and Flash, Mapserver [http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/].

5. Video and Audio Production - Adobe Premiere, Adobe Premiere Pro, Casablanca Prestige, Canon Video cameras, Roxio Videowave

6. Computer Programming - Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual Studio (C++), Flash 5 (Action Scripting), Dreamweaver (HTML).

7. Two and Three Dimensional (2D and 3D) Modeling and Drafting - Microstation J, Solid Edge, VersaCAD, Rhino, Visio Professional, Tru - Space, IMSI Floorplan, Sketchup

8. Computerized Office and LAN (Local Area Network) -Server, Cisco switch, workstations, laptop, Norton Antivirus, Norton Ghost, Microsoft 2000 Server, Microsoft Office 2000 Professional, Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, Paint, Front Page), Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office Small Business Tools, Timeliner 5.0

9. Printing, Data Storage and Presentation - HP LaserJet, HP Color LaserJet, HP DesignJet 500 Plotter, Plextor Manager (Plexwriter CD drive), Server, 4mm DDS back-up tape drive, Presentation Systems [Multimedia Projector, HP laptop, Microsoft PowerPoint], Smartboard, DVD Burners

10. EAST Support - EAST ListServes for students and facilitators, CAST, CADIS, V-ED, EAST Technical Support Team, EAST training, other online and in-lab resources, ROP

11. Music - Fruity Loops, DigiDesigns / ProTools, Soundtrack, Garageband

The EAST program at SYVUHS has received donations, trainings and monies from:

California Department of Education
MATE Center in Monterrey
AMGEN Biotech in Thousand Oaks
SYVUHS District
EAST
California Highway Patrol- Buellton
ROP North County
ESRI GIS
Airphoto USA
Creation Engine
CTAP CA Technology Program
CUE Computer Using Educators
UCSB
Ventura College
Trimble GPS
Explore Oceans
CIPE (Image Processing in Education)
Santa Barbara News Press
CA Missions Studies Assn.
Dr. Robert Hoover - Cal Poly
Dr. Tom Ostwald - UCSB
Mark Peterschick - SYVUHS ROP
Richard Wilson - SYVUHS IT
Mission Santa Ines
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
Santa Barbara County Education Office
MNS Engineers
City of Solvang
Santa Ynez Water Conservation District
Geospatial Solutions
California State Parks
Dr. Jack Johnson - SB Natural History Museum
CAST Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies

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