Bringing Pandemic Science to the Classroom: Building Public Health Capacity at a Rural Kentucky High School.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a multidisciplinary team at the University of Kentucky developed an interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and environmental health unit-the Wastewater Assessment for Coronavirus in Kentucky: Implementing Enhanced Surveillance Technology (WACKIEST) Unit-for high school students in summer 2022. This case study outlines the WACKIEST Unit, which focused on wastewater surveillance and COVID-19, the obstacles faced during development and recruitment, and implementation of the WACKIEST Unit in conjunction with a rural wastewater surveillance initiative. The unit was implemented in spring 2023 at a rural high school in Kentucky, spanning 12 days and engaging 190 students.