JASON brings oceans to the desert

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2003 | 9:01 a.m.

Diving with dolphins off the coast of California is as far removed from driving through the Nevada desert as studying for a master's degree is from pushing a janitor's broom.

But Marcus Mason, a 30-year-old fifth grade teacher at H.P. Fitzgerald Elementary School, has done all of those things.

Mason, along with Lance Wright, a 14-year-old student at Ernest Becker Middle School, make a fitting pair to mark the area's 10th successful year working with the JASON Project. JASON is an international science education project that includes an annual two-week expedition for about two dozen students and fewer than 10 teachers chosen from more than a thousand applicants worldwide.

The project is in its 14th year and the Clark County School District has sent 11 students and six teachers during the decade it has participated. All of the students in the project have gone on to study science, said Joyce Woodhouse, director of school-community partnerships for the district and organizer of the district's participation in the project.

Famed oceanographer Robert Ballard leads the expedition. The trip is tied to classroom activities in the home cities of the students chosen to participate.

Named for Jason, subject of a Greek myth who wandered in search of the golden fleece, the project has transformed the students and teachers who have gone on its expeditions, just as Jason's journey transformed him, Woodhouse said.

Take Mason. At H.P. Fitzgerald, he teaches about 90 minority students who are considered "at risk" -- at risk of getting in trouble, at risk of dropping out, at risk of failing in school and in life.

"If you look at the statistics, they're going against the students," Mason said over the phone from the Channel Islands last week. "But if you believe that when you're a teacher, you'll get nowhere."

Instead, Mason assumes his students will be able to achieve anything they want, just as he has -- including going from working as a janitor for the district for six years to becoming a teacher seven years ago, as well as studying for his master's degree and participating in the JASON Project this year.

"It was the first time I ever saw dolphins," Mason said of his week with the group of scientists and student, including Wright.

The teacher said he would be taking the project's hands-on approach back to the classroom this week.

Wright, meanwhile, was still preparing for his stint at sea as Mason was fixing to go back to work.

The teenager had already seen an exhibit at the Santa Barbara, Calif., Maritime Museum on the history of diving helmets.

"This is awesome, I'm almost tempted to stay here forever," he said.

Meanwhile, up in Carson City, state Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, introduced a bill in the new Legislature that also began this week to fund the state's participation in the JASON Project for the next two years.

This year, Mason and Wright's participation, as well as the school district's, were paid for through auctions and other fund-raising activities, Woodhouse said. The whole project cost about $92,000.

"To me, this is the future of education," Schneider said. "It's a small investment with a huge upside."