Jul 13, 2015 2 min read

Food and science go hand in hand, which is why Burgettstown High School family and consumer sciences teacher Sharon Baillie is trying to develop a science initiative in the district’s food program.

Baillie and Tiarre Bowersock, a teacher’s aide, recently were awarded a $5,000 grant from the National Education Association Foundation to start “Eating Math and Science,” a project that will allow students to learn through hands-on experiments with food.

The NEA Foundation is a public charity supported by contributions from educators’ dues, corporate sponsors, foundations and others. The foundation supports students’ success by helping public school educators build strong systems of shared responsibility, according to a news release. It awards a number of grants to educators throughout the state three times a year.

Baillie said the program will allow students to better understand science-related principles, such as how proteins break down in the body.

“It will allow students to look at food as science, not just as food,” Baillie said. “We will look at the things they are studying in biology and see how it relates to them in the home.”

Students will complete experiments that relate to preparing food, and the district is in the process of securing lab equipment.

Baillie said the project is geared toward high school students but could be expanded, if successful. There are 65 students enrolled for the fall semester class, and although her class is normally well-attended, Baillie believes the new program will be a big hit.

“The students, they like it to be fun,” she said. “They really get into things when they see how it operates.”

Superintendent James Walsh agreed.

“This is just another example of new and innovative ways to get students engaged in the curriculum,” he said. “We welcome any way that gets students from passive to active participants.”