Our Views: Youths earn science kudos

Two Baton Rouge middle school students recently saw their scientific findings published in the research journal Soil Horizon.

Jalen Scott and Desirae Gardner, both students at Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School, examined soil samples at 11 public schools, finding elevated levels of arsenic at seven of the schools. School officials concluded that there was no cause for alarm, although they suggested to parents ways that children could avoid ingesting the metals found in the soil.

David Weindorf, a soils specialist with the LSU AgCenter, helped the students with their research. The students were also assisted by LSU graduate students Matt Flynn and Elizabeth Matthews.

We congratulate Scott and Gardner on their accomplishment, and we commend Weindorf, Flynn and Matthews for helping the students. Elkhan Akhundov, a science teacher at Kenilworth, helped advance the collaboration between the LSU scientists and the Kenilworth students.

Such collaborations between LSU and local schools are invaluable. We’d like to see more of them.

Comments

1) Comment by Noel Hammatt - 16/03/2013

Congratulations to the two students! Now, I wonder if The Advocate would be so kind as to inform its readers that, of many, many charges that were alleged at Kenilworth when an investigation was opened almost two years ago of practices at this Gulen school, one of them was that students did not do their own science fair projects, but in fact, (and there were statements from students,. teachers and faculty members concerning this) the students were brough into the cafeteria to look over the projects before they went to present them at science fairs. What is so interesting, is that the State Department of Education has never reported back to BESE or to the public on the status of the investigation. I know from emails that I received that administrators and parents tried to get BESE current President Chas Roemer to do something about problems at the schools. Not only was no help forthcoming, but Pastorek was reported to have told his own administrators to "leave the school alone" and not investigate allegations that were forthcoming on a regular basis. Yet no report has ever been issued on the investigation. Wonder why. The local Business Report, quick to focus on good things coming from charters, has still never reported on the investigation of the school ordered by BESE and the State Superintendent nearly two years ago. To put this in perspective, the investigation of Kenilworth's sister school in New Orleans, run by the same group, took less than two weeks to close that school. Wonder shjo is protecting Kenilworth. I did alert LSU last year that Kenilworth had claimed in advertising that is was sponsored by LSU! Would be nice to know how the investigation is going.