Success Stories
Climate Justice League Inspires Action
Attendees of the latest cohort of the Climate Justice League left their November 6 kickoff meeting inspired. “The idea that one person can make a difference has been an inspiring addition to this learning experience, and I am motivated in figuring out how I can be a...
Rachel Stendahl Sows Seeds of Change
“Somebody should give Rachel Stendahl a medal.” That’s what a comment from a stranger on an article in The Daily Chronicle said about her achievements in education. Six years after starting her Adjudicated Youth Environmental Science Program for Lewis County and...
Implementing Green Chemistry and Sustainable Design Principles in Middle School
For a second time this year, the NCESD and Department of Ecology partnered up to offer a fully asynchronous Canvas Course designed to support teachers in learning about the principles of green chemistry and sustainable design. Teachers work their way through several...
Local Phenomena Mystery and Othello 6th Graders
On a chilly November afternoon, 6th Grade students walk in to in Mrs. Fought's science class with a new mystery to figure out! Mrs. Fought starts by telling a story of some mysterious bones that have been discovered in Kennewick, Washington, just a hour away from...
Regional Science Coordinators are growing and supporting OpenSciEd use amongst middle school science teachers
Between 2018 and 2021, Washington State Regional Science Coordinators and a tea of dedicated middle school science teachers engaged in field testing OpenSciEd instructional units to help inform the development of a complete Grades 6-8 open educational resource (OER)....
SEL Support through Science and Literacy Equity for all
How do you support students with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and still teach content? You integrate! Lorianne Donovan, ESD 123 Regional Science Coordinator and Lindsey Fangman, ESD 123 Regional Literacy Coordinator spent the summer working to solve this problem....
Washington State High School Teachers and OpenSciEd: on the cutting edge of NGSS instruction and materials
Following our state's three year participation in helping develop the nationally recognized Middle School OpenSciEd materials, Washington State high school science teachers are stepping up to aid development of OpenSciEd's open educational resource instructional...
Statewide Partnerships Lead to Green Chemistry and Sustainable Design Workshop Series
In May of 2021, NCESD had the opportunity to partner with Washington Science Teacher Association's Johanna Brown and Washington State Department of Ecology's Green Chemist Saskia van Bergen to present a series of professional learning events for educators across the...
Using Public Health Data to Study Climate Change Impacts
Exposing students to real data connected to their lives and their communities is a hallmark of the NGSS science and engineering practices. In the spring of 2021, DOH epidemiologists partnered with a professional development provider from Puget Sound ESD to produce...
Science Storylines for Elementary Teachers
On March 6, 2021, and again on March 13, IslandWood staff and elementary teachers came together on Zoom to explore two science storylines related to local phenological phenomena (say that five times fast!). Teachers of K-2 students explored a storyline related to...