Public Assistance Doesn't Hinder Class Projects

Quite a feat for a school that five years ago graduated only 75 students. About 95 percent of students come from families on public assistance, the highest rate in the city, according to principal Karen Delguercio. For Ali, it's just Elementary School Science Projects.

She says if she attended a suburban school, she and her classmates would be considered smart. But because her school is in one of the city's poorest areas, they are thought of as exceptional her performance in Elementary School Science Projects. She thinks that's wrong.

"We can't let our environment bother us," she says. "You have to separate school from what's outside." Ali won first place in microbiology in the city's George Washington Carver Fair and second place at the Delaware Valley Science Fair.

Her work was done on a shoestring. The school couldn't afford the radiation equipment she needed to conduct her research. With the help of her science teacher, Doug Wildasin, she ended up working in the labs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Wyndmoor, Montgomery County, for more than a month.

It's typical of the way most students have to conduct their research, says Wildasin, who oversees and helps students doing projects.

He applies for city, state and federal grants and solicits engineering, pharmaceutical and chemical firms for outdated lab equipment and tools. Most of the funding comes from the Comprehensive Regional Center for Minorities, based out of the National Science Foundation in Philadelphia.

This year, 61 students worked on projects, the highest number so far. They join Science Force 2000, a school science club that started about eight years ago. The projects ranged from computer-aided studies of sound pollution to the effect of acid rain on crops.

Wildasin says the work gives the students something real to be a part of. "They're working on things that touch the real world," he says. "They're not just copying from a board." Curtis Redding agrees.

Redding, a junior, has been doing projects for four years. This year, he won third place in physics in the city fair for his work on the differences in laser holograms.

When he started the projects, his parents were separating. The extra work offered him an escape from his problems at home. "When you're doing the project, you have your mind on something else," he says. "All of your time, your brain power and effort goes to it."