Fairfield University program aims to excite high school students about science and math learning | Press Releases

A multi-faceted two-year program between Fairfield University and Bridgeport Public Schools aims to excite Bridgeport high school students about science and math so that they will pursue the study of both. The highlight of the program is a summer camp, called Broadening Access to Science Education, or BASE Science Camp, that has been fully funded, thanks to the contributions of The Louis Calder Foundation and The Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation.

The ultimate objective of this program is to engage high school students from Bridgeport in hands-on research projects in the natural sciences and mathematics through an innovative, one-week camp to take place on the Fairfield campus, so to teach and foster students' love about the process of science. The camp will take place in July, and Fairfield University science and math majors will serve as camp counselors. There will be between eight to ten Fairfield University science and math faculty who will develop and run the camp activities, and Bridgeport high school educators will also take part. Far too often, students from urban areas don't continue their studies in higher education, particularly in science and math, due to a myriad of challenges. This program will address that nationwide trend.

Shelley Phelan, Ph. D., associate professor of biology of the College of Arts & Sciences at Fairfield, will serve as the BASE director, and envisions the program as increasing the number of students applying to college for science and math study. "We want to show students what scientific research really is, and how easily they can become engaged in this process at the college level. This is a wonderful opportunity to use our strengths and resources in the sciences to attract bright new students from underrepresented groups into these fields."

Moreover, the program aims to establish a long-term dialogue between Fairfield University science and math faculty and teachers at Bridgeport high schools to discuss curriculum and academic challenges in science and math education today. Research-based activities in biology, chemistry, physics, psychology and math/computer science developed for the camp will serve as a model for the development of activities that Bridgeport teachers can in turn use to enrich science experiences in the classroom for their students during the school year.

The BASE Camp is Fairfield's most recent foray into offering educational programs to students from surrounding towns. Last summer, twenty-five girls from middle schools in Milford, Stratford, Bridgeport, Fairfield and Norwalk attended the Technology Camp for Girls, a free computer camp at Fairfield University. It is part of an effort to bridge the gender gap in a technology field filled predominantly by boys. More recently, the Fairfield University School of Nursing embarked on another project with Bridgeport Public Schools with the launch the Youth Power Partnership, a new program to enrich the experience of students at Bridgeport's Bassick High School, complete with a Youth Center at FSW, Inc., located across the street from Bassick High School. The School of Nursing, which has a long history of promoting health and wellness in the Bridgeport community, is the lead agency, working in partnership with FSW, Inc., MATRIX Public Health Consultants and Bassick High School.