Lessons come live from far-flung research station

SAN MATEO -- Teacher Denise Deghi led class a little differently Thursday morning at the San Mateo Park Math and Science Magnet School.

For about 40 minutes, Deghi talked to and took questions from the school's student body while sitting thousands of miles away in a research station in the Bahamas, where she is studying coral reefs.

"Would you go back to do this research again?" fifth-grader Marco Miranda, 10, asked her during a live Web conference put up on a big screen in the school auditorium.

"I would love to, and I'd encourage all of you to do something like this when you're a bit older," she replied.

Deghi, a first-grade teacher at the school, has been in San Salvador the past week researching the health of and environmental effects on coral reefs as part of the Wells Fargo Earthwatch Fellowship program.

Deghi, 52, was among just 10 educatorsnationwide chosen for the fellowship this school year. The program picks teachers based on their enthusiasm for education and ability to translate an adventurous field experience to their classroom, colleagues and community.

Deghi is definitely an adventure-seeker who enjoys sharing her far-flung experiences with students.

She has been an avid scuba diver since 2002 and is on a mission to visit the world's top 50 coral reefs.

"I made it a point to make two dive trips a year," she said before leaving for her fellowship.

She has already made trips to sites in Indonesia, Fiji and elsewhere. She narrowly escaped the December 2004 tsunami disaster during a diving excursion in Thailand. "I was on a bungalow on the beach," she said. "I checked out five minutes before it hit."

Deghi has used her personal sea expeditions to teach her students about coral reefs and the environment.

Deghi brings in pictures of various colorful corals and specimen samples for students to touch.

"A lot of these kids haven't been to the ocean, much less seen what's underneath it," she said. "I talk to the kids about the corals, what they are, how they formed and why it's necessary to protect them."

John Adams, a Wells Fargo executive vice president, saw Deghi as a perfect fit for the fellowship and nominated her for it.

"She's very concerned about the environment, and is a great teacher who's very patient," said Adams, whose son was in Deghi's class last year.

The fellowship not only allows Deghi to combine her passions for diving and teaching, it also provides a kind of homecoming for her.

Deghi was born in San Francisco but attended high school on Grand Bahama Island. "My dad worked for Chevron and transferred the family there," she said. "It had the most beautiful clear-blue waters. That was our backyard -- the Caribbean."

Now near her childhood stomping grounds, she joins a group of several other teachers doing research with scientists who have been studying coral reefs for more than a decade.

The team is checking on corals and other reef animals while snorkeling, testing water chemistry, mapping tide pools and doing other projects.

"We're measuring, charting and surveying things," Deghi told the assembly back at the school, which has conducted its own environmental-awareness projects to coincide with her work.

"Have you seen any rare types of fish?" second-grader Tyler Baumann, 7, asked Deghi.

Deghi mentioned there's concern that the lionfish are making other species rare.

The lionfish are native to the tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean but have been introduced to the coral regions of the Atlantic.

"They're eating up all the (other) fish," Deghi said. "It's become a real problem."

Asked how the weather is, Deghi said, "It's very hot and sticky. And it's winter here."

Students enjoyed seeing and talking with Deghi through the Web.

"It's pretty cool to see her in the Bahamas having fun and doing what she loves," said Adams' 8-year-old son, Elliot.

Second-grader Rosie Franco plans to take up Deghi's suggestion of participating in similar research some day.

"I could help kids and help the environment," said Rosie, 7. "It's cool to help coral reefs."

Staff writer Neil Gonzales covers education. He can be reached at 650-348-4338 or ngonzales@bayareanewsgroup.com.

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