PSESD

Puget Sound ESD works with school district science leaders and regional community-based organizations (CBOs) to bring climate science concepts through NGSS-aligned, phenomena-based teaching to students across the region. Our greatest area of leverage is the science leaders and teacher leaders in our local school districts who can engage greater numbers of colleagues in racially just, solutions-oriented climate science learning and teaching. Our partnerships with ClimeTime grantees and other CBOs in the region result in a variety of learning opportunities to meet the needs of district science reform and teacher professional growth plans. Some of these opportunities are described below.

Teacher Professional Development

Elementary ClimeTime: How Does a Seed Become a Tree? A Carbon Story

In this workshop series, science teacher leaders provide an exploration of the role of trees in climate change using supportive teaching strategies that spark student thinking and support student talk.

Climate Science for Middle School

Many school districts adopted middle science instructional materials early in the NGSS implementation process. These materials often come from national providers. This year, we will work with middle school teacher leaders to explore phenomena-based climate science content and facilitation, and to use new ideas to enhance current instructional materials with a localized focus.

Climate Science for High School Chemistry

OpenSciEd is an open educational resource (OER) being developed by science education researchers and field test teachers. It supports NGSS phenomena-based teaching. In the series, we engage chemistry teachers in a deep study of the carbon cycle using a soon to be released OSE chemistry unit.

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Community Based Organization Partnerships

The Puget Sound region is blessed by a large number of community-based organizations dedicated to improving science learning outcomes for students. We are fortunate to partner with ClimeTime grantees including EarthGen, Inlandwood, Pacific Education Institute and the Institute for Systems Biology. We also partner with non-grantees including Sustainability Ambassadors, Arts Impact and the Educators of Color Leadership Collaborative.

Leadership Support

Puget Sound Science Leadership Collaborative

The Science Leadership Collaborative is a partnership between regional, school district science leaders, Puget Sound ESD, the Puget Sound LASER Alliance. In this collaborative, district science leaders come together monthly to work together around common interests (e.g. instructional practices, cultural competence, curriculum-assessment resources). Climate justice and climate proviso resources are shared at monthly meetings.

Puget Sound ESD 121

Upcoming Classes

Partners & Collaborators

  • Arts Impact
  • EarthGen
  • Institute for Systems Biology
  • Islandwood
  • Pacific Education Institute
  • Puget Sound LASER Alliance

Success Stories from Puget Sound ESD

Elementary Students Tackle Air Pollution in their Schoolyards

Elementary Students Tackle Air Pollution in their Schoolyards

Guided by teachers participating in IslandWood’s “Community-Centered Climate Action” teacher professional learning course, students make a change in their school community. At Emerald Heights Elementary, Karrie Coombe and Chantal Fleck’s students took on a global...

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Braiding Sweetgrass Spring Book Study

Braiding Sweetgrass Spring Book Study

From February through May this spring, 25 teachers from Pierce, King, and Snohomish counties met virtually to discuss the principles and practices of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s seminal book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Wisdom of...

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