Talking about the Sci-I Project with the U.S. Secretary of Education

Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez, Superintendent/Principal at San Antonio Elementary School, traveled from southern Monterey County, CA to Washington D.C. to talk with the U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. John King, in late October. As one of thirteen educators from throughout the nation with such an opportunity, Ms. Gildersleeve-Hernandez included highlights of the collaborations her students are forging with polar scientists through the Sci-I Project as she discussed her school!

The meeting of educators and the Secretary explored different ways that schools are meeting the Future Ready Initiative gears. “The work happening through [Sci-I] lines up naturally with several of the Future Ready gears and how a small rural school district is able to leverage modern technology to create learning opportunities that they would otherwise not have access to and how our school is able to create community partnerships with Rutgers for example” said Ms. Gildersleeve-Hernandez. The Sci-I Project aligns with the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Use of Space and Time, Personalized Professional Learning, and Community Partnerships gears from the Future Ready Initiative.

Denise Hardoy is the middle school science teacher at Ms. Gildersleeve-Hernandez’s school. She and her students are participating in the Sci-I Project 2016-17. Her students are currently elbow deep in data as they are working on their open-ended science investigations.

“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see how professionally engaged Denise is and the way her enthusiasm is passed down to our students as they dive into this incredible learning opportunity,” Ms. Gildersleeve-Hernandez commented about her school’s participation in the Sci-I Project overall.

We look forward to seeing what the students learn through their polar investigations at the upcoming Student Polar Research Symposium!