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7
“GOT SCIENCE?”
How much do Issaquah School District
parents and community value science
education? That was the question facing
the Issaquah School District last spring
when an unprecedented 1.45 million state
budget clawback put a planned Elementary
Science Curriculum adoption in jeopardy.
When funds previously earmarked for the
Elementary Science Curriculum adoption
had to be reallocated to operational
expenses, the District had a choice to make:
roll out the multi-pronged adoption over
a three year period; or request assistance
from the community.
Influencing the decision was the knowledge
that the current curriculum did not
conform to standards. A 2009 overhaul of
state science assessments made much of
the District’s current materials irrelevant.
Teachers managed to knit together
lessons from a variety of sources, but a
standardized, focused and rigorous program
was missing. Add to this a 50% passing rate
for District 5th graders on the state science
assessments and the decision became clear.
Creekside 4th graders collaborate to study the earth’s
changing surface.
Moving forward by seeking assistance was
the only way to fulfill the District’s mandate
to ‘prepare students for the academic challenges of
life in a dynamic global environment.’
The challenge was set. The District
would contribute $700,000 and would ask
the Foundation and PTSAs to raise the
additional $500,000 required to implement
the full adoption. And …the funds had to
be collected by the end of the school year, a
short two months away.
The partners immediately launched
the GOT
SCIENCE
Campaign.
Committee
members
donned mad
science wigs
and appeared
at school events, postcards were distributed
to elementary parents, banners and signs
adorned every school and numerous PTSA’s
galvanized their parent communities at
fundraising events. With a groundswell of
support, the goal was met by June 1.
This fall our students are reaping
the benefits of the GOT SCIENCE
Campaign’s efforts. Visits to classrooms
reveal students intrigued by hands-on
exercises—building terrariums to study
ecosystems, including the decomposition
stage; using food webs to study engineering;
and measuring force and motion with
racing cars.
“Science is going very well.” says Sanjana
Pathak, 4th grade teacher at Grand Ridge
Elementary. “I often hear ‘I love science!’