&EPA TIMES
NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
PARTNERS IN EDUCATION: A Special Report
Over 100 EPAers
Lead Backus Jr. High
Environment Day
On April 19, volunteers drawn from
virtually every major office at EPA
headquarters capped six months of
environmental education activities at
Washington's Backus Junior High with a
day-long extravaganza of environmental
events involving students, faculty, and
members of the school's PTA.
The event, called Environment Day, was
all business, but still gave something of a
festive air to Backus, as some 300 students
and teachers and more than 100 EPA
volunteers took part in the day's
numerous, environmentally-centered
activities.
The school's large "Rec Room" was
converted for the occasion into an
exhibition hall for displays and
demonstrations of various environmental
endeavors conducted by EPA offices.
Students crowded around OSWER's
hands-on demonstration of moonsuits used
at hazardous waste dumps as Sella
Burchette of EPA Region 2 showed
students how to don and use the gear.
Farther into the room, the D.C. Public
Works Department was demonstrating,
through a working model, the innermost
operations of the Blue Plains sewage
treatment plant, while in the next booth,
OW's Office of Municipal Pollution Control
was screening an animated film about
groundwater protection and surface water
contamination.
Nearby, Charlene Shaw and Bob Cantilli
from the Office of Drinking Water
described the importance of safe drinking
water from their exhibit, "On Tap for the
Future." The Washington Information
Center (WIC) presented computer
demonstrations that attracted crowds of
students touring the exhibit hall.
In all, eight environmental exhibits and
demonstrations were taking place. They
began operating at the start of the school
day and continued until after 2:00. The
high decibel activity in the exhibit hall was
one of five continuously operating
education and information projects going
that day at Backus, staffed by EPA
volunteers.
Elsewhere in the school, while one
group of students was touring the exhibit
hall, others were taking part in a
realistically simulated town meeting that
challenged the students to debate and vote
on local development vs. environmental
protection; other students played "Enviro
Bingo," a new, ingeniously crafted Q&A
game dealing with environmental issues
and environmental careers; and other
students were participating in computer
and science demonstrations conducted by
EPA technicians and specialists. During the
course of the day, every Backus student
took part in each EPA project. Student
participation was encouraged by prizes,
cash awards, and natural competitiveness.
Organizers of Environment Day and the
driving force behind the two-year Partners
in Education project at Backus are a
threesome composed of William Lea, a
science teacher at Backus, Carolyn Scott of
OHRM, and David Grim of Civil Rights.
Providing skills in administration and
management that proved vital to the
success of Environment Day was Mary
Blakeslee, Office of Water.
Coming toward the end of the school
year, festive Environment Day represented
the culmination of a rather intensive six
months of EPA participation in both
scholastic and non-scholastic programs at
the junior high. The Agency's work at
Backus, as with similar programs
conducted by regions, is scheduled to run
for two years, after which, school officials
and EPA representatives will review the
program's effectiveness and map plans for
the future.
According to Backus science teacher,
William Lea, the school's need for
enhanced scientific and environmental
curricula will not end in one or two years.
Nor will the benefits of the career guidance
provided by EPA volunteers. "Every year,
we graduate one class (into high school),
and we gain a new class. The new
students can benefit from what EPA is
doing just as much as our present student
body has benefited," Lea said. "I'd like to
see the work continue as long as the need
exists."
During the school year, EPA volunteers
have engaged in the following:
Schoolwide Recycling Project
February 1, 1989, a team of Agency
volunteers, working with a local
contractor, joined with Backus faculty and
students to launch a project for recycling
white waste paper. Experience with the
pilot project has generated student interest
in expanding recycling activity into their
homes, reports Kathe Simpson, a member
of the EPA team. Next year, she expects
the school will add aluminum cans to its
collection efforts, using the money
generated for a scholarship program.
The recycling team was among the
Agency exhibitors on Environment Day.
Participants included: Sarah Carney, Paul
Kaldjian, Lauris Davies, and Craig Hook.
EPA Scientists Judge
63 School Projects
Drs. Rufus* Morrison and Bill Hirzy, EPA
scientists and members of NFFE Local
2050, served as judges of 63 science
projects developed by Backus students
during the school year. Winners of first,
second and third prizes, and six honorable
mentions were announced during
ceremonies taking place at the conclusion
of Environment Day.
According to Charlie Garlow,
coordinator of union activities for the
Two students of Backus Jr. High hear Bob Cantilli and Charlene Shaw (right), Office of Drinking
Water, discuss the Agency's drinking water issues.
dmhuixgw'Teb
on TAP FOR
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Speakers Bureau
Plays Dual Role
During the school year, approximately 20
members of the EPA Speakers Bureau
conducted classes at Backus on subjects
almost as far-ranging as EPA itself.
Specialists in forestry, computers, toxic
waste, air pollution, and other fields
addressed often as many as three classes a
day in their visits to the school, a member
of the Speakers Bureau reports.
According to a professional educator,
teachers welcome the opportunity to enrich
regular classroom training with fresh input
from people actually working in a given
field. "It adds the essential element of
reality to a classroom when you have
people there who are using the skills we
teach. You make the leap from classroom
to the real world in one easy step. It's
invaluable."
David Grim, an Agency coordinator with
Backus, observed that EPA participants in
the school project had the opportunity to
be role models as well as instructors in
their specialties. "That's a challenge to our
staff at the same time it is an important
byproduct of the hard work they've put
into this project," Grim said.
Toastmasters
Promote Leadership
Since October 1988, EPA's Toastmaster
Club 2775 has sponsored two 8-week
programs at Backus to develop the
speaking and leadership skills of young
people. In each of the two Youth
Leadership programs, 15 students, led by
Toastmasters representatives, met one day
a week for two class periods.
Doris Gillispie of Human Resources
Development, Debra Thomas, Pesticides
and Toxic Substances, and Herman
Baucom, Office of Water, coordinated the
Backus Toastmasters project. They describe
the leadership program as a system by
which "students learn through 'hands on'
training how to organize and present a
speech, how to conduct group discussions,
how to offer constructive criticism, and
how to develop better listening skills."
The first group to complete its 8-week
program elected to hold its "graduation"
exercise at EPA headquarters, where
Charlie Grizzle, AA for Administration and
Resources Management, presented
certificates of completion. The second
group is to demonstrate its skills before
. \
parents and student body on Backus'
graduation day this spring.
Debra Thomas reports the programs
were highly praised by school
administration, faculty, and students.
William Lea, Backus' coordinator of the
EPA project, has requested the
Toastmasters sponsor a third Youth
Leadership program at the school.
Other ongoing projects at Backus this
year include:
•	Selection of three Backus teachers and
two students for summer internships at
EPA.
•	A "mentor shadowing" experience for 10
students who observed agency managers
in action.
•	Frequent visits to the school by the EPA
chorus and steps toward creating a Backus
chorus.
•	Participation by 30 students in the
Agency's observance of the Martin Luther
King, Jr., federal holiday. Students posed
for group pictures with the guest speaker,
the Honorable Shirley Chisholm.
(left to right)
Clarice Gaylord,
Deputy Director, OHRM,
Ed Hartley, Director, OIRM,
and Bill Hirzy, OPTS,
hand out certificates of
achievement to
Backus students.
headquarters Partners in Education project,
approximately one-third of the projects
were scientific experiments and two-thirds
were explanations of scientific principles or
phenomena. "Quality of the the top
projects was quite high," Garlow said. "So
the judges had a really tough time picking
the winning entries. We feel that, in itself,
is indicative of this program's successful
start."
Wendy Bailey, WIC, and Earnie Watkins, OW,
(standing) with Backus students for a
"hands-on" computer session.
Sella Burchette (L.) OSWER, Region 2,
demonstrates "Moon Suits" to students. These
are protective gear used to avoid contact with a
toxic material when cleaning up a hazardous
waste site.

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An Agency Action,
A National Need
fct'ities of EPA volunteers at Backus are
Mesult of a commitment by former
BKiinistrator Lee Thomas to extend the
Agency's resources to enhance math and
science education. Thomas made the
commitment in observance of the Martin
Luther King, Jr., holiday. The action was
initiated in light of projections of a
continuing national shortfall of young
people trained in scientific and technical
fields. Among minorities and young
women, the lack of scientific and technical
training is particularly acute. President
Reagan's Office of Private Sector Initiatives
launched the Partners in Education
program under which private industry and
government agencies would work with
schools to reduce the educational gap.
Through the earlier Adopt-a-School
program, the President's Environmental
Youth Awards, and a number of local
initiatives, EPA's staff has been an active
educational factor for a number of years.
The more recent Partners in Education
Clarence Featherson, (left) OECM (a former
Backus student), and Bruce Barclay, OPPE,
speak to students at awards assembly.
NVIRONMENT DM
APRIL 19

An environmental poster for Backus designed by
Dave Hoadley, OARM.
program, exemplified in the Backus
operation, seeks to expand and organize
volunteer educational and career guidance
work into areas of greatest national and
social need.
For more information about the Backus
program contact Carolyn Scott, FTS
382-3305 or David Grim, FTS 382-4588.
Additional
Headquarters Activities
EPA in cooperation with Naissance, Inc.,
has planned a June 2nd program for young
people from the Bryan and Payne
Elementary Schools in Southeast
Washington, D.C. Approximately 30
students ages 10-11, and their teachers will
be given a presentation on groundwater,
using a specially prepared video and
accompanying study guide produced by
the Water Pollution Control Federation
under an EPA grant.
The students will also be told about the
President's Environmental Youth Awards
Program and how they may enter it. In
addition, a representative of the EPA Earth
Day 1990 committee will suggest ways they
may help with that project.
Naissance, Inc., a professional women's
group, is dedicated to enhancing the
educational foundation, experiences, and
potential of black youth by introducing
them to social, cultural, and historic
events. Margie A. Wilson, Small Business
Officer in EPA's OSDBU, is a member of
Naissance. Douglas Cooper of the
Administrator's Staff will host the event.
EPA at Boy Scout
Jamboree
Some 40 Agency staffers will be going to
camp this summer at the quadrennial Boy
Scout Jamboree, to be held from August
2-8 in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia. Their task will
be to promote conservation methods and
environmental ethics among the 30,000
attendees. Several headquarters offices,
including Research and Development and
Community and Intergovernmental
Relations, plus Region 8 and 9, as well as
some of our labs will be donating time and
personnel.
The Jamboree attracts Scouts from all
over the world to work on their merit
badges, sharpen skills, make friends and
get some exposure to new ideas. EPA
displays will be stationed on the
"Conservation Trail," always one of the
more popular activities.
The 1989 EPA national Scout Jamboree
executive committee chair is Vernon
Laurie. The co-chairs are Allan Batterman,
Gordon Evans, William Lee Jennings,
Bruce Gay, Richard Lapan and Melba
Meador; executive secretary is Marlene
Lemro.
How EPA Benefits
from Partners in
Education
The need for EPA's Partners-in-Education
program and the benefits to be derived
from it are reflected in this issue of the
EPA Times.
Two recent studies to determine
national educational needs, conducted
independently by a congressional task
force and by the U.S. Department of Labor
(Workforce 2000), identified a national
shortfall in numbers of science and
engineering graduates. Supply does not
meet demand, the studies found, nor is
the situation likely to improve in the
future without direct intervention.
In today's hi-tech society, the shortfall
of scientists and engineers in this country
does not bode well for the nation's future
or its competitive position with trading
partners in Europe and the Pacific.
"...by the year 2010, we could suffer a
shortfall of as many as 560,000 science and
engineering professionals," according to
the congressional study. The report went
on to say: "The percentage of young
Americans preparing for careers in science
and engineering has been declining
steadily...The educational pipeline—from
pre-kindergarten through the Ph.D.—is
failing to produce the scientifically literate
and mathematically capable workers
needed to meet future demand."
Additionally, recruiting and employment
complications face EPA and other
scientifically oriented federal agencies.
Executive Order 11478 says, in essence,
that agencies should hire and promote
minorities and women in all job levels in
proportion to their numbers in the civilian
workforce. However, recruiters and civil
rights specialists have determined
that minorities and women are not
proportionally represented in the science
and engineering educational pipeline, and
thus are underrepresented in those
professions. Accordingly, intervention
programs such as the Agency's
partnership with Backus Junior High
School and the regional initiatives reported
in this issue are designed to stimulate
academic interest in study areas that may
lead to the hi-tech careers available at
EPA.
The short term benefit of the
EPA-Backus partnership and similar
programs is apparent to the students,
teachers, and Agency staff involved.
Student awareness of, and interest in,
environmental issues has been advanced
significantly, with added carryover in the
school communities. There are other
benefits of perhaps greater significance.
To help address problems in the
public education system, the President
has encouraged volunteer groups
such as the National Association of
Partners in Education. The honorary chair
of this group is Mrs. George Bush. EPA
activities such as those at Backus and
similar school volunteer programs by
regional offices are allied with Partners in
Education.
'""Hi
ShOPP
RESPONSIBILITY

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Regions Set The Pace in
Activities with Schools
Volunteers from EPA regional
headquarters, field offices, and labs have
been early and active participants in
Agency efforts to assist public schools in
environmental education and to inform
students about career opportunities in the
environmental field. One regional office
has been working with schools in its area
for 17 years. The following is condensed
from recent reports coming to the Times.
Region 1.
Last year, the Office of Public Affairs in
EPA's New England region launched an
adopt-a-school program with the Boston
Public School system for students K-9.
During the school year, EPA staff met with
students to review environmental issues
involving wetlands, forests, smog, the
ozone layer, air toxics, Boston Harbor
cleanup, groundwater protection, and
threats to the environment. Agency
slideshows and videotapes were pressed
into service at every opportunity.
The regional office reports enthusiastic
participation in the program by technical
and scientific staff, and hopes to expand
the program beyond the Greater Boston
area in the coming school year.
The region has a long history of
educational activity. Seventeen years ago,
the office introduced the Elementary
Education Ecology Poem and Poster
Program (EEEPPP) for grades K-6. The
program involves every public school in
the region that chooses to participate.
Teachers focus part of the curriculum on
environmental topics and encourage
students to create class or individual
projects or submit poems. Entries are
judged in the regional office, and award
winners are recognized at each state
capital.
Region 1, like most, also participates in
the highly-regarded President's
Environmental Youth Awards program.
Region 2.
Under a May 1988 agreement with Far
Rockaway High School in Queens, N.Y.,
volunteers from the regional office are
working to enrich the school's academic
program and expose students to a variety
of career options, role models, and
environmental issues. Each division office
of the region has a representative on the
"Join-a-School" committee which works
with the school.
EPA provides classroom speakers on
environmental topics, assists the school's
9th grade pre-engineering students,
coordinates tours of EPA facilities,
including the Edison lab, and supports
activities of the school's environmental
awareness club. Activities have ranged
from demonstrating water purification
methodology to conducting simulated job
interviews.
As part of Region 2 )oin-A-School Program,
students from Far Rockaway High School
observe a demonstration by Kim Peaver at
EPA's biology lab, Edison, New Jersey.
The school principal is quite impressed
by the volunteers' involvement at Far
Rockaway, according to Dianna Sexton,
project manager. Dianna is planning to
expand the Join-a-School program in the
next school year.
Region 3.
The region is completing its third year of
support for adopted school, Abraham
Lincoln High School, in Philadelphia.
Lincoln is a magnet school for
environmental science. This past year, in
addition to providing speakers, Region 3
helped the school obtain lab equipment.
EPA volunteers and students visited
nearby Pennypack Creek for a
demonstration of water sampling
techniques and enforcement procedures.
The school program, and EPA's role in it
have been editorially acclaimed by a
Philadelphia paper.
In other educational activity, the Black
Employment Program Advisory Council
(BEPAC) and the Hispanic Employment
Program Advisory Council (HEPAC) in
Region 3 have also adopted schools.
BEPAC adopted the Andrew Hamilton
Elementary School in West Philadelphia.
Hamilton students attended the region's
Black History Month and Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s birthday celebration. Last
month, Region 3 volunteers participated in
Hamilton's National Science and Technical
Fair. Future projects include a tour to a
local sewage treatment plant, and
discussions of career opportunities in
science and engineering by Agency
specialists.
HEPAC recently adopted Olney High
School in North Philadelphia. The program
there began with a schoolwide essay
contest about recycling. Other planned
activities include: a student volunteer
program and summer work study in
Region 3; providing EPA staff as speakers
and tutors; instituting a mentor program;
and setting up a sister council at the
school.
Region 3's Women in Science and
Engineering (WISE) kicked off a pilot high
school co-op program for seniors interested
in environmental technology careers.
also sponsored its second annual poej
and poster contest in the Philadelphia
school district. More than 150 schools
participated in the contest in 1988.
Bonnie Smith, Director of the region's
Center for Environmental Learning, works
with government, education, and industry
groups to promote environmental
education throughout the region. She is
working with state educators on
environmental curricula and has set up a
meeting between state environmental
agencies and educators in the region to
discuss issues involving environmental
education.
Region 5.
This is the fifth year of the region's service
at its adopted school, Washington High
School on Chicago's southwest side. In a
typical school year, as many as 25 to 30
EPA volunteers take part in science fair
support, tutoring, and teaching workshops
at the school.
One member of the EPA team helped
coach a Washington student to reach a
winning spot at the Illinois State Science
Fair. Other EPAers help out in science and
English classes; another teaches a popular
seminar on rock climbing.
There are monetary results as well,
year, proceeds from the region's a I u
can recycling program, which amountecno
$500, went to Washington's scholarship
fund. This year's contribution is expected
to be even larger, as the region steps up
recycling efforts.
Earlier this year, much to the delight of
students and teachers, the Soviet Union's
minister of environment, Feodor T.
Morgun, who was touring Region 5
environmental activities, asked to be taken
to a high school in the area and paid a
surprise visit to the adopted school.
According to Margaret McCue, chief of the
region's public information and media
section, the minister must have been
impressed by his visit. The Soviet
delegation missed their flight out of
Chicago.
Washington High School has recently
given Region 5 a plaque of appreciation for
its participation in the adopt-a-school
program.
Other projects in planning stage
At present, staff at other EPA regions
and laboratories are discussing how to
begin a partnership with local public
schools in the '89-'90 school year. The
Cincinnati Lab has committed to work with
a science magnet high school, and
negotiations are underway in Regions
and 10 to develop partnerships.
Place your order now for 1989 CFR Title
40. For further information call Patricia
Blacknall (PM-215) Printing Management,
382-2130.

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