• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Grant Elevates Science Learning in Gilbert Schools: Group Ranks District's Program One of Best in U.S.

Posted on: Monday, 1 May 2006, 15:00 CDT

By Jackie Leatherman, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

May 01--Kaiah Nelson can't stop coming up with questions about millipedes.

The fourth-grader at Gilbert's Carol Rae Ranch Elementary School wants to know "if their babies are born live, if they have to go to the bathroom, and how they react with each other."

She is a self-proclaimed "science freak."

The 9-year-old said if she had to learn science just by reading a textbook that "it could possibly be the boringest thing ever."

It's a good thing for Kaiah, then, that the Gilbert Unified School District secured a $1.8-million grant five years ago to elevate its science curriculum to one of the best in the nation, according to an independent research group.

It took the district four attempts to secure the fiveyear grant from the National Science Foundation to reconstruct its entire system of teaching science for kindergarten through sixth-grades.

Each teacher was haphazardly throwing together books and materials to meet the national science standards before the grant.

Since 2001, the district has developed a consistent, districtwide curriculum, hands-on materials, student observation journals, and teacher support.

The "high quality" classes have placed Gilbert in the top 15 percent when compared to a random sampling of 364 science and math lessons nationwide.

"This is a district that has went from zero to 60," said Mark St. John, head of Inverness Research Associates, during a presentation to the governing board on Tuesday. "It's a well-supported, wellengineered program. You are unusual in the U.S."

The grant expires at the end of April, but the district is sustaining the program through staff development funding and possibly becoming a hub for regional professional development.

Chris Bretzke, Kaiah's teacher, said the transformation has enabled students to research concepts instead of reading about them.

"Otherwise, it's just you standing up there giving the information," she said. "It teaches them how to find answers for themselves, instead of feeding it to them."

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Tribune

More News in this Category