Participants

Ulan-Ude Team

Lyceum 61

“Lyceum 61,” opened in 1933, is a boarding school in the Republic of Buryatia in Russia. It strives to help gifted students develop their special talents and skills. Today, there are about 220 students aged 12-17 studying at the school.

Besides regular schoolwork and research projects, the students are greatly involved in social life at the Lyceum and its surrounding community. The school clubs range from journalism and nanotechnologies to dancing, football and chess; and provide any student with new sources of inspiration and energy.

Lead Teacher: Irina Ushakova

Irina teaches English in Lyceum 61 and helps organize educational exchange programs. These programs embrace cultural diversity, tolerance and conserving Lake Baikal, and include schools in China, Turkey and Buryatia. At the Lyceum, Irina aims to incorporate critical thinking into teaching foreign languages, help students with research projects, and develop a gender education curriculum.

Irina is an active participant of the US-Russia Social Expertise Exchange Education & Youth group funded by the Eurasia foundation.

Lyceum 61 students in action!

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San Diego Team

El Cajon Valley High School

El Cajon Valley High School (ECV), established in 1955, is a comprehensive public high school located in El Cajon, a suburb of San Diego, California.

ECV aims to provide clear, relevant, and rigorous instruction, while also promoting personal excellence, to help students build a successful future after graduation. ECV is a gateway to opportunity where everyone works together to graduate all students with high levels of critical thinking, academic achievement, and personal excellence.

Lead teacher: Franz Ruiz

AP Environmental Science

Franz Ruiz is in his fifteenth year of teaching at El Cajon Valley High School and was recognized as the Teacher of the Year for 2015-2016 school year. He currently serves as the Science Department Chair and GATE Coordinator for his school. He has taught all levels of Biology, General Science, and is presently teaching ELD Science for Newcomer Students, Honors Biology and AP Environmental Science. Franz earned a B.S. in Biology emphasizing in Zoology and a California teaching credential from San Diego State University, and holds an M.S. in Science Education from Montana State University. Franz enjoys spending time with his family, is an avid Star Wars geek, and is passionate about science.

Francis Parker School

Francis Parker School, established in 1912, is an independent K-12 school in San Diego, California. Its mission is to create and inspire a diverse community of well-educated, creative, and compassionate people who will grow to make a meaningful difference in the world.

There is a total of 1230 students in Francis Parker. The student population is very diverse, with individuals coming from more than 74 ZIP codes in San Diego County. 471 Parker graduates from the Classes of 2011 to 2014 got into more than 150 different colleges and universities across the US. 82 percent of the Class of 2014 were admitted to a “Highly Competitive College” as listed by Barron’s.

Lead teacher: Rose Hanscom

AP Environmental Science

Rose Hanscom is in her thirty-sixth year at Francis Parker Upper School. She taught all levels of Chemistry for years and is presently teaching AP Environmental Science and AP Biology. She continues in her seventeenth year of coaching Science Olympiad for the Parker Upper School. Rose earned a B.S and M.S in Biology and her California teaching credential at California State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. She earlier taught a class in Human Microbiology at California State University in San Bernardo, CA. Rose was an AP Table Leader and Question Leader for AP Chemistry for fourteen years. Earlier, she was on the SAT II test writing committee for Chemistry. Rose has two children and three grandsons. She enjoys reading and observing nature.