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The 20/20 Challenge

In Summer 2005, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) initiated the 20/20 Challenge. Based upon Jean-Francois Rischard's book, High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them, the 20/20 Challenge paired one school in the United States with a partner school from outside the country and asked the students to collaborate in solving one of 20 global problems in the next 20 years. Over 100 schools (50 teams) from 32 countries participated in the Challenge.

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Mount Saint Joseph Academy - a sponsored work of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Philadelphia, PA -formed two teams, a junior team and a senior team. The seven-member Junior Team partnered the St. Joseph Convent Girls Senior Secondary School in Jabalpur, India, an all-girls school staffed by Sisters of Saint Joseph from Chambery, France. Through videoconferencing, email, and instant messaging, these young women, separated by thousands of miles, spent months working on the problem of global infectious disease. They produced a web site that not only demonstrated the teams' research of the problems but also their solution for addressing the problem in the next 20 years

In February, NAIS announced that Mount Saint Joseph Academy and the St. Joseph Convent Girls Senior Secondary School won the NAIS 20/20 Challenge in the Secondary School Division by unanimous decision! The judges were most impressed by their comprehensive understanding of the problem of infectious disease, their realistic approach to the problem, and their visually appealing and comprehensive web site.

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The Senior Team, which finished in the top ten of the 20/20 Challenge, partnered with a predominantly Muslim high school in Bahrain and focused on the issue of global water deficits. They, too, produced a well-received and detailed web site regarding their issue and solution to the assigned problem.

To visit the 20/20 Challenge web sites, please go to http://www.msjacad.org/ and then click the links for either or "20/20 Diseases" or "20/20 Water" on the front page.

The thrilling outcome of this venture is the story of friendships formed among the students. For the girls from India and Philadelphia the revelation as they worked side-by-side while being a world apart was: "They're just like us!" A further delight is the fact when four members of the Indian team came to America for six days to join their sisters at the annual, national NAIS Conference held in Boston, MA, they met each other face-to-face and shared meals and homes. In Boston, they participated in a Global Young Leaders Institute and were honored at the Closing Ceremony.

After the Boston Conference, the Mount hosted an informal gathering to foster the girls' friendships. From the beginning, the girls were avid e-pals sharing the details of their daily lives, books they love, what they do for relaxation, what their school day is like. One day, the Philadelphia girls came to school early and the Jabalpur girls stayed late so that they could "meet" in a video conference. The squeals that erupted as they saw one another in real time - for the first time - was so revealing. They "visited" online for almost an hour and a half, questions and answers tumbling on top of one another as they eagerly came to discover that "they're just like us!"

In addition to friendships forged by the girls, the SSJ sister principals (Karen Dietrich, from the Mount and Roselyn from St. Joseph Secondary School) from both schools became colleagues and dreamers together. They discovered that they hold much in common and each has great respect for the culture of the other. Imagine the feeling when they discovered that they were both almost the same age, had both been science teachers before becoming principals and that both would do everything they could to make this partnership a memorable and long-lasting one. They spoke often on the phone and they, too, videoconferenced. They certainly share the view that the future of society is dependent upon the education of women, and that the fine students who took on 2005 Challenge 20/20 have truly furthered the SSJ mission that All May Be One.