Hen Hud HS, South Dakota Reservation School Form Partnership

PEEKSKILL-CORTLANDT, NY - From Henry Hudson School District: A teacher on an impoverished Indian Reservation and a high school science teacher at a high school in Westchester County may not spring to mind as natural colleagues. However, when Dr. Christine Rogers, Science Research Director at Hendrick Hudson High School met Beau White, science teacher at the Pine Ridge Girls School in South Dakota, during a professional conference in Washington, D.C., she knew there had to be a way their students could work together.

Now, in a first-of- its-kind collaboration, a group of Hendrick Hudson High School Science Research students are mentoring students attending school on a Lakota Indian reservation in South Dakota.

Rogers worked with the Society for Science and the Public to spearhead a unique program that matches schools with well-established Science Research programs with underserved schools that are hoping to develop such programs. The goal is for the schools that already have programs in place to mentor and support the partner schools.

Rogers reached out to the Pine Ridge Girls School, a school whose mission is to empower Lakota girls living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The high school dropout rate on the reservation is around 70 percent, and 97 percent of the population lives below the U.S. federal poverty line. Rogers initiated a collaboration with the school’s science teacher who is developing a science research program and project-based science curriculum.

“We are establishing a partnership between our schools, in which our Science Research students will collaborate and share research ideas and data with Pine Ridge students, and both teachers will share best practices, develop curriculum and foster scientific and cultural exchanges between students,” said Rogers.
“Science research and project-based programs are essential in developing college readiness and empowering students.”

The students recently “met” via video chat, during which Hendrick Hudson High School sophomore Adhithya and junior Thea Barbelet shared their respective research projects with the Pine Ridge students. Rajasekar discussed a scientific paper on molecular signaling in brain embryonic development and Barbelet presented her summer research on bumblebees. “The girls at Pine Ridge were very excited, asked questions and seemed extremely happy to be involved,” said Rogers.

Hendrick Hudson High School and the Pine Ridge Girls School are the first schools in the country to establish such a partnership. “The Society for Science and the Public is hoping that this innovative pilot program will lead to more mentorship outreach programs across the country,” said Rogers.

Photo courtesy of Hendrick Hudson School District