Contact: Linda Topoleski, 412-281-2345 Or: Hesperia Junior High School

ltopoleski@dymun.com Teacher Barbara Jacobs, 760-244-9386

Special Needs Students from Hesperia Junior High School Named Finalists in National Science/Community Service Competition

Win Trip to Walt Disney World®

Students Develop Wrist Band Phone Holder

to Enable People of All Abilities to Communicate Easily

AUBURN, NY,—April 19, 2006—Bright ideas, solid research and teamwork won a team of students from Hesperia, CA, spots as finalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that challenges middle-school students to explore opportunities for positive change in their communities. Eighth-graders Kattie Greene and Emilee Landon, seventh-graders Eric Coldwell and David Perez, and their coach, Special Education Teacher Barbara Jacobs, had made it to the semifinals earlier this month and now are one of eight teams in the country to compete for the grand prize—the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant.

With disabilities that include three of their team members in wheelchairs, one with cerebral palsy and one with a hearing impairment, this group of students knows all too well the barriers they face in trying to access a telephone. Issues such as the location and portability of the phone or the design of the earpiece can prevent people with disabilities from effectively accessing a phone.

After researching current products on the market for access and portability, and conducting a survey of students to gauge needs, the team developed an idea for a wristband cell phone holder which allows hands-free functioning and portability. Current products on the market require hands-on involvement to remove the phone from the holder, which the team saw as an obstacle for people who have limited fine motor skills, those in wheelchairs who need their hands to navigate, and people who are blind. Other products require an earpiece which does not work for people with hearing impairments.

The students hand-sewed their prototype out of denim and Velcro and tested it with team members with positive results. The holder is flexible enough to attach to an arm or anywhere on a wheelchair.

A panel of community leaders, scientists and experts in science education judged this idea as one of the top eight entries in the U.S. Over 1,200 students and coaches participated nationwide.

Teams Win a Trip to Walt Disney World®

The team and their coach win an all-expense-paid trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, where they will compete in the Christopher Columbus Awards' National Championship Week, May 28-June 2, 2006, plus a $200 grant for each team to further develop their project.

Each member of two Gold Medal winning teams will receive a $2,000 U.S. Savings Bond, and one team will receive the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant as seed money to help bring its idea to life in the community. The Grant winning team will receive support from the Christopher Columbus Awards staff and continued guidance from their coach and community leaders.

The finalists will also attend the Christopher Columbus Academy, a custom-designed educational program. Conducted by scientists, engineers and educators, the program reveals the science and technology behind the thrills and excitement of Epcot® and the Magic Kingdom.®

Positive Community Change

The Christopher Columbus Awards challenge teams of middle-school students to explore and discover opportunities for positive change in their communities using science and technology. The program is now in its tenth year and has attracted nearly 14,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation (www.columbusfdn.org) with support from the National Science Foundation and it is endorsed by the National Middle School Association. Past winners have included: a group of Native American girls who built a study hall out of straw on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and a group of students from Pennsylvania who developed a video/motion sensor device for school buses that deters motorists from trying to pass illegally.

Strong Participation from Girls, Minorities

The program attracts many students who may not typically enter a science competition. More than half of the entrants are girls, and more than a fourth are from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, statistics that are higher than those of most science competitions. The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation believes the teamwork aspect and community focus draw a broader range of students to enter.

About the Sponsor

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is an independent Federal government agency created by Congress in 1992 to encourage and support research, study and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. The Foundation has established Frontiers of Discovery–Work in Progress and Discover the Future, programs that recognize “cutting edge” innovations, innovative ideas of America’s youth, and honor teachers. These programs include the Homeland Security Award, Christopher Columbus Awards, National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors and the $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award.

For more information, call 1-800-291-6020 or visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com.

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