The Lamont Elementary School District (LESD) was one of three school districts chosen to bring state-of-the-art, hands-on, interactive science lessons to their students with their new partnership with the California Science Center Foundation.
Over the course of six days in the months of November and December, 70 teachers, principals, and coaches from Lamont, Alicante, and Myrtle elementary schools will be able to participate in professional development training to help them create engaging science lesson plans and experiments in accordance with the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
The NGSS calls for a three-dimensional approach to K–12 science instruction. This represents a significant transition from previous state standards.
“Thoughtful and coordinated approaches to implementation will enable educators to inspire future generations of scientifically literate students,” the NGSS website states.
Lori Gonzalez, the Superintendent of the Lamont Elementary School District made a statement to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS), stating that the building of these partnerships with businesses and the general community is extremely important to help the underserved areas of Kern County.
The partnership was made possible by a $35,000 donation from Kern Energy.
“Kern Energy building this partnership is so phenomenal because we’re now working directly with scientists to get this training that we want for our teachers,” Gonzalez said to KCSOS.
According to the KCSOS, this partnership stems from the need to create equity and improve access to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education across all areas of Kern County.
Educators will be trained using Twig Science, a phenomena-based science program, that includes lesson planning and hands-on learning.
According to the KCSOS, the next step in the partnership will be giving Lamont elementary students access to field trips to the California Science Center, which will provide students with hands-on experiences and exposure to STEAM disciplines.
