Making first contact with a teacher in the math department is often the hardest thing to do when trying to get a Trig*Star Program going.  Here are some tips:

• Do you know any teacher, guidance counselor or administrator at your local high school that could introduce you to a math teacher?

• Do any of your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc., attend a nearby high school where you would be willing to visit to present the Trig*Star program/test?

• Are any of your neighbors or friends at church or social groups, teachers or school employees that may be able to steer you in the right direction toward the trigonometry teacher?

• Ask them to give you the name and phone number (or e-mail address) of that teacher.  Then ...

• Make the contact, preferably in the fall of the school year.  Get a copy of the WSLS Trig*Star Brochure (order one or more copies from the Trig-Star Chairperson) and give it to the math teacher to help explain the Trig*Star Program.  Introduce yourself and tell the teacher that you would like to present a program to students explaining how mathematics is used by our surveying profession.  Also, give encouragement to visit the WSLS Trig*Star web pages for additional information and sample tests from previous years.

• Set up a date along with the teacher to present the Program to the class(es). You may find it helpful to have a colleague or coworker assist you, especially if you will have equipment and/or materials to bring to the school.  (Be willing to reciprocate with him/her at another presentation that (s)he may want to give.)

Also, plan at least a tentative time when the Exam should be given to the class(es).  Sometimes this is given on the same day as the program, but usually another day works out better.

Back to "Guidelines for Setting up a Trig*Star Program"