Steve Garlid has been involved with IslandWood since before it was “IslandWood.” As a teacher…
September 5, 2024
“I really, really appreciate this professional development. I walked away feeling EXCITED to teach science this year (using Amplify!) This training empowered me so I can (hopefully!) empower my students.”
“We were so highly respected as educators, and the balance between structure and time to self-direct was really well done. I learned a lot but also felt like I was able to apply my own expertise and skill set in a meaningful way.”
-
Back row (left to right): Brian MacNevin, Jeff Friers, Rin Stone, Fa Fairbank, Kalli Wilson, Steven Palmer, Rebecca Heston, Madeline Pinkerton, Jessica Thomashaw, Lucy Cooley, Kate Arbogast, Kate Martin, Angie DiLoreto, Becca Anderson, Will Baur, Cheryl Cole, Alexei Desmarais, Tiana Barrios
-
Front Row: (left to right): Jeff Ryan, Brad Street, Heather Hirschi, Rebecca Abbott, Jeffrey Erikson, Susan Jester, Kim Zemel, Maggie Pinkerton, Liz David, Celina Steiger, Julia Ward, Kate Bedient, Deb Morrison
“I really, really appreciate this professional development. I walked away feeling EXCITED to teach science this year (using Amplify!) This training empowered me so I can (hopefully!) empower my students.”
– Rin Stone, Greenwood Elementary School
Localizing science units began as a way of enhancing nationwide K–8 science curriculums like Amplify Science with a regional perspective, addressing the issue of many school districts using national curriculums that are not built to take local places into account. In August, we were thrilled to welcome a new cohort of passionate educators from across Puget Sound to IslandWood as we embarked on the third year of our exciting journey to localize national science units!
We’ve been collaborating with dedicated teacher teams to develop localized guides for science units right here on our campus. These guides are designed to empower teachers and districts to seamlessly incorporate localized content, students’ personal and cultural identities, regional data sets, and crucial climate science into their existing curriculum.
This year, thanks to the generous support of OSPI ClimeTime and Boeing, we’re excited to develop eight new localizing guides. We’ll also pilot four guides and launch an asynchronous course for a completed guide this year.
The 2024 – 25 group includes:
- William Baur – Washougal High School
- Angie DiLoreto – Bellevue School District
- Cheryl Cole – Daniel Bagley Elementary
- Erin Stone – Greenwood Elementary
- Fa Fairbank – Cascade Middle School
- Heather Hirschi – Cascade Middle School
- Jeff Friers – Ridgetop MS, Fairview MS, Central Kitsap MS, Klahowya MS
- Jeffrey Erickson – Robert Frost Elementary
- Jessica Thomashow – Hazel Wolf K8
- Jessica Youmans – Bellevue High School
- Kalli Willson – Cedarcrest High School
- Kate Arbogast – Graham Hill
- Lucy Cooley – Olympic View
- Madelaine Pinkerton – South Whidbey High School
- Maggie Chappel – Hawthorne Elementary
- Rebecca Heston – Aylen Junior High
- Rebecca Anderson – Sammamish High School
- Steven Palmer – Meridian Middle School
- Susan Jester – Redmond Middle School
- Tiana Barrios – Spanaway Middle School
- Tricia Goode – McLoughlin Middle
LWG Working Lunch outside of the Dining Hall
“We were so highly respected as educators, and the balance between structure and time to self-direct was really well done. I learned a lot but also felt like I was able to apply my own expertise and skill set in a meaningful way.”
– Jessica Thomashow, Hazel Wolf K-8
The planning team is a collaborative effort between staff from IslandWood, Seattle Public Schools, UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Northwest and Olympic Educational Service Districts.
The planning and support team includes:
- Bethany Sjoberg – Seattle Public Schools
- Liz David – Seattle Public Schools
- Rebecca Abbott – Lawrence Hall of Science
- Deb Morrison – University of Washington, University of California
- Kate Bedient – IslandWood
Facilitators include:
- Alexei Desmarais – IslandWood
- Brad Street – IslandWood
- Brian MacNevin – Nothwest ESD
- Celina Steiger – IslandWood
- Jeff Ryan – Olympic ESD
- Julia Ward – Seattle Public Schools
- Kate Martin – IslandWood
- Kim Zemel – IslandWood
- Louise Prescott – IslandWood
- William Baur – Washougal High School
In addition to these hands-on efforts, we’ll offer courses and workshops focused on the process of localizing science units. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our mailing list to stay in the know about next year’s Localizing Working Group and other professional learning opportunities.
We thank everyone for participating and look forward to another year of working with these dedicated educators!
LWG members in a circle on the Dining Hall lawn
LWG intensive in the Great Hall
If you haven’t already, subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the know about blog posts, news, and events!
