Juneau’s new elementary science curriculum will integrate aspects of Native culture in order to promote place-based learning in the classroom.
The Juneau School District Board of Education adopted the new curriculum Tuesday night. It brings Juneau’s K-5 classrooms up to date with current national and state science standards.
“We really brought a lot of connected resources to it as best we could, with lots of great conversation about Tlingit science and Western science,” curriculum coordinator Carin Smolin said. She and instructional coach Pam Garcia oversaw the creation of the new standards. Middle and high school standards are next.
Dozens of community members, teachers and parents took part in the process, which took more than a year.
Smolin and Garcia said they particularly are excited for teachers to use a new database connecting STEM professionals in the Juneau area with teachers and students for experiential learning.
The curriculum brings the district up to date with the nationally recognized Next Generation Science Standards. Since their release in 2013, 19 states have adopted them.
They encourage a deeper understanding of concepts related to science and technology by teaching students the “why” and “how,” instead of just the “what.”
Garcia said the standards are designed to help students relate to what they’re learning by connecting lessons to what’s happening in the world around them.
“Thinking and acting like scientists and engineers, that’s the whole idea,” Garcia said. “Because in the real world you observe phenomena and then you wonder and you ask questions and you make connections in order to learn about how the world works.”
Costs for implementing the new curriculum will include additional training for teachers, subscriptions to “Mystery Science,” an online database for hands-on lesson plans and new science kits for classroom use.
School board President Brian Holst and other members praised the committee for their hard work.
The district last updated science standards in 2011.
“What was refreshing is that, a really well done curriculum with a lot of support from our teachers won’t cost us a lot of extra resources,” Holst said.
The school district is working on its budget for the next fiscal year and needs to find a way to make up a projected shortfall.
“Essentially that’s $3 million of cuts that we have to identify,” he said. “And that’s because, by flat-funding schools, that’s actually a decrease because expenses, costs continue to rise.”
The final school district budget must be submitted to the city by March 30.
