During the four years of the Beckman@Science funding, five science specialists were trained as Beckman Teacher Leaders. District kit training sessions were provided for science specialists and interested classroom teachers, in addition to the opportunities for kit training provided at the Beckman Center. Funds were also used to refurbish and replace kits aligned to District and State Science Content Standards. Interest and enthusiasm for inquiry based science instruction and science notebooks had expanded from the science specialists to include an increasing number of classroom teachers at all grade levels.

At the end of the 2001-2002 school year, extensive budget cuts resulted in the elimination of the elementary science specialist’s position in the District. As a result, the focus of the science training shifted from an intensive focus on the science specialists to the training of all classroom teachers in inquiry strategies and notebooking skills. A matrix aligning its to grade level content was revised and used to purchase selected kits to focus kit training on crucial grade levels. The state science assessment requires that all grade 4 and 5 teachers to allow them to meet this challenge while using those materials and strategies that have been proven as best practices. These staff development sessions and kit purchases would not have been possible without the grant funds provided through the Beckman@Science Program.

Our goals for the future of the SVUSD involve extending the kit training to every grade 4 and 5 teacher and to provide kit refurbishment to every 4 and 5 grade classroom.