Ballou High School Students Complete First Year of Project ESCAPE

Goddard sponsored a graduation of sorts for 85 students of Ballou High School in Washington, on August 1. It was the first summer for Eager Student Community Activism for Planet Earth better known as Project ESCAPE.

Terri Patterson, minority university program specialist address Project ESCAPE participants. Photo by Chris Gunn

Project ESCAPE is an educational collaboration between Ballou High School and community sponsors that include NASA's Spacelink Educational Activities, Goddard and Southeastern University in Washington.

Terri Patterson, minority university program specialist represented Goddard as a special guest that included Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, president Southeastern University and Dr. Elaine Bourne Heath, Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs for Southeastern University at the closing ceremony.

Project ESCAPE was developed to allow Ballou 10th graders the opportunity to participate in a four-week term over three consecutive summers with a main focus on math and science. This year students focused on earth science educational activities. Next summer the students will be involved in the mathematics of micro-gravity. In the third summer term the students will focus on internship placement, research experiences and a focus on college entrance requirements.

	Left, Terri Patterson, Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, president Southeastern University, Andrea Barron, ESCAPE student holds exceptional performance award and Dr. Elaine Bourne Heath Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs for Southeastern University. Photos by Chris Gunn

During each four-week term students will conduct varied research experiments in land and cover studies, ozone depletion, soil moisture measurements, snow accumulation and weather tracking. The students will be offered an opportunity to visit college campuses and research centers. Students will also be afforded the opportunity to participate in local and state legislative hearings that focus on environmental and science policy.

According to Dr. Elaine Heath, Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs and lead for Project ESCAPE, the Ballou sophomore had to meet rigorous selection standards to be accepted into the program. Each student had to have a high grade point average in math, science and technology and present two letters of recommendation.

Project ESCAPE mirrors NASA's desire to inspire the next generation, in this case, as only NASA along with Southeastern University at Ballou High School can.