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Initiated in 1992 and supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) since 1994, the cornerstone of the 'Base Pair' program is a pairing of high school students and educators from the largest school district in Mississippi, the Jackson Public School District (JPSD), with School of Medicine research faculty.
This is done through:
1) research mentorships for public high school students
2) aggressive professional development for secondary school science teachers through contemporary laboratory and didactic experiences in a Summer Research Institute
3) the implementation of a research-intensive biomedical sciences curriculum at city high schools
4) a web site that serves as a resource and a communications vehicle.
5) a student-led, mentor-supervised Community Science Forum aimed at extending science education activities to parents and the general community.
The program's curriculum for a year-long biomedical sciences research course has been adopted statewide. 100% of program participants graduate from high school and 59% go on to study science in college. Comparable groups of students have a graduation rate of 57% and college science study rate of 15%.
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