Westport, Connecticut Teacher Named Regional Winner in National Epidemiology Competition
April 27, 2004, WESTPORT, CT — A Westport teacher has been named a regional winner in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Teacher Competition for developing a high school curriculum that combines service learning with the study of efforts to control diseases worldwide.
Jennifer Staple, a first-year teacher at Westport's Green Farms Academy, will receive a $5,000 award for her entry, entitled "Towards Sustainable Solutions: Applying Epidemiology to Develop Nonprofit Organizations."
Staple teaches honors chemistry and environmental science at Green Farms Academy. In addition to teaching full time, she is also Founder, President and CEO of the nonprofit global humanitarian, public health organization Unite For Sight (www.uniteforsight.org), which she founded as a college student at Yale, where she was a cum laude graduate in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in biology and anthropology.
In Staple's curriculum, she has combined her experiences in teaching and leading a nonprofit organization, engaging her students in service and experiential learning. After studying global health issues through an epidemiological perspective, students develop nonprofit organizations to address the prevention and control of diseases.
The YES Teacher Competition is sponsored by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the College Board. In the competition, high school teachers submit curricula that present innovative ways to introduce high school students to the basic skills of epidemiology - the branch of medicine that deals with the study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease among populations - and to the critical reasoning it requires.
"In a world facing threats that include the spread of SARS, obesity, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease, we are looking for the next generation of epidemiologists to tackle these and other pressing public health problems," said J. Michael McGinnis, M.D., of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
While the competition focuses on epidemiology, YES seeks to develop skills that go beyond just that area of study. "The problem-solving involved in epidemiological research helps to develop critical skills - framing the right question, collecting relevant data, and analyzing findings - that can be applied in a number of disciplines," said Gaston Caperton, President of the College Board. "We are proud to be part of this important initiative."
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation's largest philanthropic organization devoted exclusively to improving health and health care for all Americans. The Foundation invests in initiatives that create meaningful and timely change and help people lead healthier lives.
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 4,500 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves over three million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. For more information on the College Board, visit www.collegeboard.org.
For more information please contact Damon Thompson at 202.457-8100 x319 or dthompson@lipmanhearne.com.