The Laguna Beach Unified School District has been proud to be a part of Beckman@Science for ten years beginning in 1999.

• The teachers in Laguna Beach have been trained in three or more science modules. One-hundred percent (100%) of the K-6th grade teachers are currently teaching three or more science units per year. The modules include the three categories of science: earth, physical, and life. Some of our teachers have been trained in more than three science modules due to grade level reassignments and the adoption of new kits. Teachers are given the opportunity to utilize their summer time off from school to attend community college classes and staff development opportunities to obtain a deeper understanding of science concepts. During the 2009-2010 school year, the Beckman@Science program affected 1,414 K-6 students. The Laguna Beach Unified School District adopted the Scott Foresman science series for K-5th grade students. The 6th grade students use Holt Rinehart series. It was agreed before the adoption that a textbook would be used to build a breadth of knowledge for both the teachers and students. Laguna Beach Unified School District believes that students learn about science more effectively by using a hands-on , inquiry-based approach. Moreover, the staff is committed to providing guest speakers, field trips, and opportunities for students to apply what is learned in the science classroom to their world around them.

• During the 2009-2010 school year, articulation sessions continued to take place in professional learning communities on how to best utilize the hands-on modules while integrating the newly adopted textbook. Additionally, teachers and administrators are researching methods to help students build a great understanding and application of science vocabulary.

• Prior to implementing the Beckman@Science program in Laguna Beach, our district used Foss teaching kits that were primarily taught by a science specialist. The specialist had allocated most of his/her teaching time to fourth and fifth grade students and alternated his/her time between two elementary schools. Students received science instruction every eight weeks. Moreover, prior to the partnership with Beckman@Science, the primary teachers taught science using the Foss kits, however instruction was not consistent, nor hands-on, inquiry-based. Some teachers found that they did not have enough time in their teaching day to teach science. The science program was not a priority among most teachers at the elementary level nor was it considered a core subject.

• In 2009-2010, the district began its third year of implementing a program called, “Response to Instruction” (RtI). The teachers integrated a team approach to meeting the learning needs of every student. Grade level teams now share in the responsibility for every student in the grade level. This shared approach allows teachers to address students’ needs immediately through collaborative work of the professional learning community every week. This approach carries through in science as teachers respond to students’ needs before they fail. In November, 2007, two full-time reading interventionists were hired to continue to assist teachers in using the correct tools to help students gain literacy at his/her grade level. This process carried over in science as teachers became more adept in using leveled science readers to meet the reading and comprehension levels of all students. Students presented with reading material at their ability level have shown improved oral fluency, comprehension, and understanding of science vocabulary words. Regular student progress monitoring assists the teachers to plan how to teach the science concepts and how to “reteach” a concept if students do not show understanding of what was taught. We believe that our rich Beckman@Science and Response to Instruction programs were instrumental in awarding the honor of “Distinguished School” to the two elementary schools and one middle school in our district. Moreover, Top of the World Elementary School hosted an Orange County “Response to Intervention” seminar for administrators and specialists throughout Orange County in 2009. Top of the World Elementary School is considered a leader in Response to Intervention and has thus been selected as one of the models educators can use in implementing intervention techniques for their students.

•Our District has seen a noticeable difference in the quality of student science notebooks since we have become involved in the Beckman@Science Program. The District is inclined to believe that these skills have had carry-over in language arts and mathematics. The middle school teachers continue to report that students are coming into sixth, seventh, and eighth grades with a broader and deeper science foundation than in the years past. In the 2004/2005 school year, an additional full-time high school science instructor was hired to provide additional science classes because there is an increase in student interest in taking higher-level science courses. Many high school students are electing to take four years of science instead of the required three years. In the 2006/2007 school year, the Board of Education approved the implementation of four more science classes that are offered to high school students. The classes are Introductory Chemical Research, Introductory Advanced Chemical Research, Anatomy, and Environmental Science. High School science teachers now offer after-school and weekend field trips. The teachers believe that an increase in student interest in science is a result of teaching science as a core curriculum subject and in particular the implementation of Beckman@Science program in the elementary schools. An after school paleontology club at the middle school continues to provide additional student access in the area of earth science. The after school science classes for 1st-5th grade students that are offered each trimester are filled to capacity. The after-school environmental science program and the garden program are both met with high student interest. The fifth grade students continue to obtain high scores on the state science test, which the teachers attribute to offering every student, beginning in kindergarten a rich, hands-on, inquiry based science curriculum. Elementary teachers report that both male and female students choose science as their “best” and “favorite” subject. Many students have become accustomed to having a science lesson everyday rather than in the past when it was offered at best once a week. When asked what they want to be when they grow up, a huge majority of students respond by wanting to pursue a career using science. Middle school and high school teachers report that their students have positive experiences of the Beckman@Science taught to them at the elementary level.

• Each year there is a noticeable difference in the depth of science being taught. Many teachers have taught the modules five or more times and thus are acquiring a deeper breadth of science knowledge and are passing it along to their students as well as assisting new teachers or teachers new to the grade level how best to implement the science modules. Teachers are eager to spotlight their science curriculum at the “Community Open House” each May. Additionally, teachers continue to offer specific science days where members of the school board, the educational foundation, (SchoolPower), administrators, and parents are invited to spend a morning or afternoon having the students conduct and teach hands-on science to the adults. A large portion of student led conferences are used by students sharing and teaching their parents about the science unit taught in their classrooms. Individual grade levels perform plays and musicals that are related to the science unit of study taught in their grade. Younger students perform Reader’s Theater that relates to one of their units of science for parents and other classes. The Beckman@Science program continues to be taught in depth with excitement in Laguna Beach!

• The teachers continue to use their professional learning community time to explore how to integrate the new textbooks into their science instruction without compromising the hands-on, inquiry-based component for students. Teachers explore different methods and use differentiated materials/resources to teach all students the science curriculum with special attention on students that are performing below grade level in reading. A careful student analysis is conducted for each child’s oral fluency reading and comprehension and differentiated instruction is given to meet the needs of all learners. Most importantly, the teachers in our district are very excited about teaching science and their dedication and professionalism to achieve sustainability in teaching a hands-on, inquiry-based science curriculum is to be commended. We look forward to another great year of Beckman@Science!