Freshman students at Opportunity Academy engaged in a hands-on introduction to college-level science earlier this year, collaborating with Dr. Cagney Coomer of Smith College’s neuroscience department and Smith College neuroscience students. In the kitchen, students made mozzarella cheese to explore milk acidity using bases such as vinegar and lemon. This experiment directly connected to their Plant Power course on soil acidity.
As part of her volunteer activities at OA, Dr. Coomer and her college students also worked with OA’s 9th graders to develop their understanding of neuroscience, including activities that measured brainwave activity and tested neural responses during video games, soda consumption, and sound/image reactions.
“The partnership between Smith College and Opportunity Academy aims to provide students with more than a science lesson,” Opportunity Academy’s science and math teacher Fatimah Shabazz. “By working with a scientist of color and connecting classroom concepts to their community, students gained hands-on experience, career exposure, and a reminder of science’s accessibility and relevance.”
OA Principal Phelipe Johnson thanked Ms. Shabazz for making the connection with Dr. Coomer that allowed her to participate in the classroom as a science volunteer. “Some of the activities they’ve done together have been some of the most engaging science work I’ve seen in a classroom,” he said, noting that Dr. Coomer is connecting her Smith College students with the science program at Sullivan Middle School. He anticipates that Dr. Coomer will return to OA this fall to continue her volunteer teaching with students at the Opportunity Academy Success Center.
