By Ellen H. King
November 4, 2002

Gary Mayor Scott King, Augusta Mayor Bob Young, and Hope (NJ) Mayor Timothy McDonough recently invited the Cities United for Science Progress (CUSP) "Science in the School Day" Program to their cities to stress the importance of science education in their local elementary schools. The mayors joined a DuPont field engineer in a classroom of students to perform a range of science experiments displaying elementary science and engineering principles. Mayors were able to share this experience with their entire city, as local media attended each event to capture the moment.

CUSP's "Science in the School Day" Program afforded the mayors with the opportunity to join some of their youngest residents for some valuable time in the classroom. Mayor King noted, "Throughout my time with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, I have had the pleasure of working on many platforms. But today spending time with our children here at home, participating in this experiment and sharing thoughts about the importance of education and the fascinating world of science, gives me the greatest pleasure."

DuPont field engineers Matt Jensen of Fort Madison, IA, Cherisse Stevenson of Nashville, TN, David Anderson of Edgemoor, DE and Bryanne Grainger of Philadelphia, PA all delighted in their involvement with the "Science in the School Day" Program.

"I-m a young, black female who was told during an elementary school career day that I didn-t have a chance at being an engineer," noted Stevenson. "Not only are we able to assist students in exploring science and engineering through this program, but we-re also able to break down the stereotypes of our field and show young people that it's possible for them to achieve a career in engineering."

Mayor Young noted from his experience, "CUSP's 'Science in the School Day' provides the City of Augusta with the opportunity to stress the importance of math and science to our young people."

One of New Jersey's leading newspapers, the Star Ledger's Warren County edition, the Express Times, took notice of Hope Mayor McDonough's involvement with the program and highlighted the event. Mayor McDonough stressed his appreciation for the commitment of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Executive Director J. Thomas Cochran in creating strong influential programs such as "Science in the School Day" for its member mayors.

The "Science in the School Day" Program is an initiative of the USCM/DuPont CUSP partnership. To learn more about the CUSP partnership, please contact CUSP Managing Director Ellen H. King by phone at 202-861-6798 or e-mail at eking@usmayors.org