The 21st Century Schoolhouse Educators Conference/ Directors Meeting:

From June 26-30, an international group of staff and students participated in The 21st Century Schoolhouse Educators Conference/ Directors Meeting. The conference was aimed at developing Schoolhouse 2000, a collaborative research project linking public health to the environment. The goal was to generate a project that would:

• have students research a common public health problem linked to the environment;
• allow students to apply the results of their research by taking local community actions to address the problem;
• provide students with the opportunity use the results to educate their local community; and
• allow students to collaborate globally through a Web-based, problem-solving venue in which students within The 21st Century Schoolhouse present, discuss and propose solutions to the common public health problem.

In July, 1999 and May, 2000, The 21st Century Schoolhouse staff met with the EXCITE staff at CDC to explore ways in which CDC/EXCITE could assist The 21st Century Schoolhouse in the development of Schoolhouse 2000.

CDC/EXCITE Participation:

In order to achieve the project goals, The 21st Century Schoolhouse requested CDC/EXCITE to conduct basic epidemiology training during the Educators Conference. The 21st Century Schoolhouse staff selected epidemiology as a focus since it is a science that easily integrates across the curriculum. It also provides a common methodology to investigate problems in which results from local investigations can be shared over the 21st Century Schoolhouse Web site, as well as during face-to-face summits where international groups of students can analyze results and generate solutions. The findings resulting from the investigation can then be used locally and globally by students to implement actions and education programs aimed at addressing the cause(s) of common public heath concerns.

In order to provide 21st Century Schoolhouse staff with general information regarding epidemiological investigations, CDC/EXCITE agreed to provide materials and send Dr. Ralph Cordell to the Educators Conference. Dr. Cordell provided a three-day training session designed to give staff an overview of epidemiology and a foundation to incorporate epidemiological investigative tools into the design of the Schoolhouse 2000 project.

Dr. David Fleming, Deputy Director for Science and Public Health at CDC, provided the keynote address for the closing night event at the Educators Conference. Dr. Fleming acknowledged the efforts of 21st Century Schoolhouse staff and students and encouraged them to continue their work. He emphasized that student research can not only enhance an individual's knowledge and skills, but can also be used to directly benefit the community, as the goal of Schoolhouse 2000 states.

Impact of CDC's Participation in The 21CS Educators Conference:

The conference concluded with the participants agreeing to develop Schoolhouse 2000 based on the study of epidemiology. The CDC/EXCITE training generated indepth discussion revolving around the selection of a common problem and designing epidemiological activities that could be incorporated into the project. Staff concluded that a focus on the risk factors to human health as a result of waste management practices or water quality are common problems facing all countries in The 21st Century Schoolhouse.

In order to design and implement Schoolhouse 2000 within each country, staff agreed on the following:

1. Utilizing an online venue, 21st Century Schoolhouse staff will make preparations for a Virtual International Symposium that will allow students to collaborate on a specific investigative definition(s) related to the risk factors to human health as a result of waste management practices or water quality (August-September-2000).

2. Have students participate in the 21st Century Schoolhouse Virtual International Symposium (late October/early November 2000).

3. Once a clear definition is developed by students, teaching staff and local/ international experts will collaborate to design the research phase of Schoolhouse 2000, based on a set of epidemiological activities that address the definition(s) resulting from the Virtual International Symposium (November-January, 2000/01).

4. Students will continue to implement Schoolhouse 2000 utilizing The 21st Century Schoolhouse Web site as a tool for collaboration and presentation of findings (February-August, 2001)

Exploring a future partnership between CDC/EXCITE and The 21st Century Schoolhouse:

The partnership between The 21st Century Schoolhouse and CDC/EXCITE demonstrates the positive impact government agencies can have on education. Not only can government agencies such as CDC/EXCITE provide important resources for teachers and students, they can also be vehicles for providing students with real-life applications as they relate to their education. Providing students with the opportunity to interact either virtually or personally with representatives from government agencies such as CDC brings relevancy to student learning and can open the door to an array of career opportunities linked to the curriculum.

The 21st Century Schoolhouse would be interested in officially partnering with CDC/EXCITE in an attempt to create a model interactive epidemiological study based on the Schoolhouse 2000 project. As an official partner, The 21st Century Schoolhouse would like to have appropriate CDC scientists:

• participate with staff in the design and implementation of the Virtual International Symposium;
• assist staff in the development of epidemiological activities for the Schoolhouse 2000 project; and
• serve as a virtual resource for students during the implementation phase of Schoolhouse 2000. This could involve "an ask the expert" section on the Web site where a CDC scientist(s) would be available to answer questions and provide other assistance.

In the short term, a successful partnership between CDC/EXCITE and The 21st Century Schoolhouse could result in an effective interactive model for student-driven epidemiological studies. In the long term, the combined efforts could lead to a large scale public health education program that could be incorporated in to the curricula of schools nationwide and around the world. As seen with the GLOBE environmental program (www.globe.gov ), congressional support and funding has been provided for such large scale educational programs. Certainly a large scale program that encourages students to participate in collaborative public health investigations that directly benefit local communities could enjoy similar support.
Attached please find a copy of U.S. Congresswoman Darlene Hooley's statement about the collaborative effort between The 21st Century Schoolhouse and CDC/EXCITE.