[This content was pulled from the St. Mary’s County proposal to Maryland Space Grant.]
St. Mary’s County Public Schools is participating in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP; full details at http://ssep.ncesse.org) overseen by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE). The program is allowing us to conduct an experiment design competition for our grade 8 and high school chemistry students. Our student teams will be vying for use of an experiment slot reserved specifically for St. Mary’s County Public Schools in a mini-laboratory to fly aboard STS-124, the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, currently scheduled for April 1, 2011. This website is our SSEP Community Blog, detailing our participation in SSEP.
St. Mary’s County Public Schools is located in Southern Maryland, with a student population of about 17,290 students. Our mission is to “Know the learner and the learning, expecting excellence in both. Accept no excuses educating ALL with rigor, relevance, respect, and positive relationships.”
We have 
developed a rigorous and unique program of STEM education emphasizing the core areas of mathematics and science with an infusion of technology and engineering. Our guiding principles for STEM include extensive laboratory experiences with diverse technological applications, intensive communication assignments designed to refine verbal and visual communication abilities, and an environment of intellectual and technical exchange with local business and industry mentors.
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) will provide our students with an unprecedented, authentic challenge to design a real experiment to fly in space. Our STEM guiding principles – Rigor, Relevance, Understanding and Application – are all exemplified by the SSEP project.
You’re invited to visit the following sub-pages of this About page:
About SSEP
Community Demographics
Our Commitment to STEM Education
SSEP Strategic Relevance to Our STEM Ed Program
National Center for Earth and Space Science Education