NTSA Conference Registration

Basalt Elementary

Basalt, CO

Requested Amount: $2,000

Donation Amount: $250

This project will fund a district trying to improve our science instruction. Our team will learn about teaching science and integrating language.

In 2018, our district created its first-ever Science Content Lead for the elementary level. That year I became that Lead and in preparation for the upcoming state shift in science standards, I attended the NSTA National Conference in Reno. I was impressed with the information and potential the new standards had for our learners. Previous standards had been solely content-focused, whereas the new standards focus on Science and Engineering Practices, Cross-Cutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas. There was so much learning, and with that I was able to begin to shift our elementary teachers toward a scope and sequence and curriculum aligned to the new standards. We developed an expectation that all elementary students receive regular science instruction and our middle school colleagues noticed better-prepared students coming to them. Our district has worked diligently, but because of the limited time that we have to offer professional development to all teachers, much of the work has thus far been done FOR the teachers and not WITH the teachers. Our next shift aims to focus on opportunities for more teachers to participate in in-depth learning about the 3-Dimensional nature of Next Gen standards.

As a rural district, we are geographically distant from the opportunities afforded to teachers in the Front Range to learn more about Science instruction. Likewise, students in the district rarely engage with science opportunities outside of the school environment. There are no science museums nearby and very few opportunities for elementary students to engage with science in structured environments outside of school. It is expensive to bring speakers and trainers here, and our teachers have limited time to attend science-based trainings. The NSTA national conference is coming to Denver in the spring, which makes travel more affordable for our district. With a limited science budget, we would have to spend much of it to send a team of teachers to participate in this learning. We are requesting funds to cover the costs associated with sending 2 teachers to the conference, including their registration, lodging, and food.

Our district serves much of the Roaring Fork Valley, from Glenwood Springs to Basalt, and includes Redstone, Old Snowmass, Ruedi, Thomasville and the surrounding areas. We span three counties: Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin. We were historically connected to mining and related endeavors but over time the ski areas nearby have become the major economic engine of the valley. Our community has many immigrants who come here to work mainly in service industries for the ski areas. We have a sizable ranching component as well as three vibrant small towns, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs that mainly serve tourism, ranching, hospitality, construction, and service industries. Following are the demographics of our school district which has 4 elementary schools, 1 K-8 school, 3 middle schools, 4 high schools, and 2 district charter schools