ESD 105 Science Education Cooperative

ESD 105, in partnership with 22 school districts and two private schools, manages the Science Education Cooperative. The Science Cooperative Board members include all 22 district superintendents plus representative from the two private schools. An Executive Committe meets monthly to conduct the cooperative business. Executive committee members are: Chairman Gary Masten (Highland School District), Peter Finch (West Valley School District), Mary Masten (Yakima School District), Rick Cole (Sunnyside School District), and Mark Flatau (Cle Elum School District).

The Cooperative provides inquiry-based science professional development training in order to continue to realize the LASER project goals in our region. All teachers receive the same two-day Initial Kit Use training (on specific grade level kits) and a one-day content deepening training. Students throughout the Cooperative districts are receiving consistent, inquiry-based science instruction. The three days of training prepares teachers to integrate mathematics, reading, and writing into their science instruction.

The Cooperative supports teachers as they become master teachers at the Initial Use level. Some teachers progress from master teacher to master trainer by following a timeline that includes implementing the kit in their classroom, attending the professional development manual training, shadowing a training, co-presenting lessons at a training, co-leading or leading a training. The teacher/trainers are also taught how to integrate mathematics, writing, and reading, along with WASL-language, into the Initial Use trainings. The Cooperative's goal is to have two master trainers for each of the 19 Curriculum Program units available to provide training for the Cooperative's 1,100 teachers

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Another component of the Science Education Cooperative is the science kit rotation among the teachers in 18 partner districts and two private schools. Rather than each district purchasing three kits for each teacher, the Cooperative approach allows a district to purchase the use of three kits per teacher at approximately 1/3 the cost. In conjuction with the Yakima School District Science Resource Center, which is under contract to refurbish the used kits, the cooperative can rotate the same kits throughout the region three times each year. This provides a great cost benefit to the districts.

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