Jackson Public Schools
Base Pair Overview
Overview
Initiated in 1992 at Murrah High School, Base Pair was developed as a biomedical research mentorship program that paired faculty from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) with high school scholars and educators from one of the largest public school districts in the state of Mississippi, Jackson Public Schools.
Teacher professional development and science curriculum enhancement activities have complemented the scholar participation to create a highly coordinated impetus for science education reform that has generated two innovative, teacher-initiated corollary programs, the Rural Biomedical Initiative (RBI) and the Student Oriented Academic Research (SOAR).
From a modest start, Base Pair has exerted a significant, positive influence over science education, locally in the Jackson Metro area, throughout the state of Mississippi, regionally in the southeast and nationally through conferences, workshops, and presentations.
Base Pair, the namesake program, allows scholars from Murrah High School to experience a long-term, bona fide biomedical research experience in a "hands-on" manner under the guidance and supervision of a UMMC faculty researcher.
The RBI program offers a flexible template for inquiry-based, hands-on high school science curricula amenable for schools in rural and often under-resourced locations.
The SOAR program is an innovative, two-year science curriculum template, for schools within the District, that is focused on locally-generated scholar research and which is highly adaptable to individual school resources and constraints.