As student test scores lag, many top D.C.-area scientists are heading back to school this fall with the hopes of inspiring the next generation of innovators.
Nearly 40 retired scientists will go into Montgomery and Fairfax county schools for year-long stints as “science gurus,” through a partnership with D.C.-based American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Students from Alexandria’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology will spend nearly 15 hours per week completing projects with mentors from places like the Naval Research Laboratory and the Federal Highway Administration.
And a robotics team at Herndon High School will be coached by the same scientist who, in May, helped guide the Phoenix robot to a safe landing on Mars.
“There’s less instruction time in the sciences” due in part to No Child Left Behind’s laser focus on reading and math scores, said Jodi Peterson, spokeswoman for the National Science Teachers’ Association. “Get these people in the classroom!”
Nationwide, test scores reveal dire levels of scientific knowledge. Results from the 2008 ACT college entrance exam showed only 28 percent of the nation’s 1.4 million test takers scoring high enough in science to be adequately prepared for college.
But for the teacher-scientists, every interaction with a student is an experiment that just might succeed, experts said.
“For all of the problems and concerns and issues with science education, the kids are just as excited and smart and as capable as they’ve ever been,” said Dave Lavery, NASA’s program executive for solar system exploration, and a Herndon robotics coach. “They’ll find a way to do great things.”
