**Astrobiology in the Urban High School:**

**John Dewey High School's Educational Outreach Partnerships**

Mr. Barry Fried

Principal

John Dewey High School

50 Avenue X, Brooklyn, New York, 11223

USA

[*bfried@nycboe.net*](mailto:bfried@nycboe.net)

Ms. Honora Dash

Special Education and Science Departments

John Dewey High School

USA

Mr. Mark Levy

Science Department

John Dewey High School

USA

Dr. Shermane Austin

Department of Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences & CUNY
Network Resource Training Site of MU-SPIN

Medgar Evers College

USA

Dr. Leon P. Johnson

Department of Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences & CUNY
Network Resource Training Site of MU-SPIN

Medgar Evers College

USA

Could life exist elsewhere in the universe? How did life begin on Earth?
At John Dewey High School, an innovative urban school, students tackle
these challenging questions in our Space Science Academy, a one-year
sequence of elective classes. The sequence consists of Comparative
Planetology, Mission to Mars (NASA sponsored research program),
Astrobiology (using TERC's new integrated curriculum) and Remote
Sensing.

The Space Science Academy recruits a broad spectrum of students with
diverse learning styles, including students with special needs, English
Language Learners and underserved and underprivileged populations. The
collaborative learning approach used in this program simulates the NASA
method of problem-solving as students work in teams to learn about,
explore and participate in the discovery aspects of science research.
This method insures that all students participate and have an equal
stake in the outcome of the projects. Our Space Science Academy classes
are interdisciplinary in the true sense of the word. By exploring the
questions above, students apply concepts of biology, chemistry, physics,
astronomy and earth science as well as sociology, ethics and psychology.

One of our teachers was selected as teacher leader in Astrobiology for
New York State and will provide professional development workshops to
show educators how to incorporate Astrobiology into their classrooms.
Two staff have been selected as Solar System Educators (SSEP) for New
York State through NASA-JPL and lead teacher training sessions to help
educators integrate NASA Mission Space Science into existing science
curricula. Workshop leaders highlight inclusion teaching methodologies
with an emphasis on reaching varied grade-level and experiential-level
audiences.

Support of partnerships is crucial to the success of this program. Our
alliance with Medgar Evers College is instrumental in making connections
in the fields of remote sensing, meteorology and planetary studies.
NASA/MU-SPIN has sponsored field trips to Goddard Space Flight Center.
We collaborate with The American Museum of Natural History and The Rose
Center at the Hayden Planetarium through education outreach venues in
teacher preparation and classroom and field studies. Our curriculum has
also been enriched by our partnership with Passport to Knowledge (P2K).
We hosted Mars related activities in the community and in schools
coinciding with the launch and landing of the Mars rovers in 2003 -
2004. John Dewey High School was also featured in P2K's video
productions of *Space Day* celebrations during 2003 and 2004. Our
current focus is NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper
Belt and we are invited guests at the launch in January, 2006.