News Release
Everett Public Schools
March 26, 2009
For more information:
Mary Waggoner, 425-385-4049
Bob Sotak, 425-385-4674
District awarded $616,000 grant for middle and high school science
Over the next three years, all of Everett Public Schools 60 middle and high school science teachers will be involved in the
Everett Science Partnership: Observing and Improving Student Learning.
Everett Public Schools partnered with the Center for
Inquiry Science, the University of Washington, and Seattle Pacific University in applying for the $616,000 Math Science
Partnership grant.
The program's goal is to increase academic science learning for students in grades 6 -12. To achieve that end, every district
middle and high school science teacher will attend one of three summer institutes with school principals between now and
2011. Each will also work throughout the school year with science teachers from around the district on science lessons and
methods to assess how well students are learning. Teachers will work hand-in-hand with college and university research
scientists. Up to 9,000 students will be impacted each year during the three years of the grant, but "tens of thousands of
students will benefit from the work done over the next three years to bring teachers from across the district together to focus
on the grant's goals," said Interim Superintendent Karst Brandsma when he announced the grant at this week's school board
meeting.
Besides helping students achieve in science, the grant is designed to improve how well middle and high school teachers are
prepared to teach challenging science materials and to increase their practice of doing so. The program will also strengthen
the district infrastructure that supports teaching and learning science.
"We know that well-prepared teachers are key to students learning well," said district Science Resource Center Director Bob
Sotak. "This grant makes it possible for science teachers around the district to spend intensive learning time together, to
implement what they learn, to collaborate to improve how they are teaching, and to assess what students are learning and
adjust to meet student learning needs."
According to Sotak, a similar program has been used in the Seattle School District. "The students there improved in science
dramatically. We are starting the program in Everett Public Schools with students at a higher achievement rate than when
Seattle started, and we expect our gains to be even greater." The program's design is not unknown to a number of Everett
middle school teachers who have been piloting the program this year. "We've seen the impacts of the program at each of the
schools involved in the pilot and are in a great position to expand to all secondary schools this summer," said Sotak.
The Center for Inquiry Science at the Institute for Systems Biology, the lead grant partner, has a well-established relationship
with Everett Public Schools, including a 12-year partnership with the district's science resource center director and six years of
working with district teachers. "The University of Washington and Seattle Pacific University provide two lead scientists, each
with scientific research expertise in the physical sciences as well as decades of experience in deepening science curriculum in
the state," said Sotak.
Also, the project management team will work with external evaluators, using ongoing data to measure the program's success
and determine needed changes over time. Ultimately the plan will analyze what is most effective to help students learn to high
standards, for teachers to inspire high-level learning, for school administrators to build support and systems to make such
learning and teaching possible, and for partner scientists to best work to ensure that teachers have access to the latest
scientific knowledge and resources.
"To say we are excited, is an understatement," said Sotak. "Particularly in times of budget cuts and reductions, this infusion of
dollars to maintain and accelerate our science program, is much appreciated."
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