Science and Sustainability Program
High school science teachers collaborate across high schools and partner with external groups focused on sustainability to develop projects that are implemented in a local context. Students also take on advocacy roles to promote sustainable practices within their school community.
Connections to Real World Learning Roadmap
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Vision
Real world learning consists of a continuum of opportunities ranging from exploratory to preparatory including: classroom visits by business and industry professionals (both in person or virtually), field trips, job shadows, internships, apprenticeships and worksite learning experiences. Real world learning also includes authentic and relevant experiences embedded in classroom curriculum and activities that help students understand the connections between content areas, their classroom, and the real world.
Our goal is that students are able to experience learning that helps them understand the connections between the skills and knowledge they are gaining in school and meaningful work in college, career, and beyond. Additional outcomes are focused on supporting the exposure and connection to a wide variety of career-based experiences for all students district-wide. This layered approach helps all students develop the knowledge and skills they need in the real world and imbues them with a sense of self-efficacy.
Implementation: How We Did It
The goals of this program are threefold: to connect high school teachers and students to industry professionals and experts; to provide teachers with the ability to create learning experiences connected to real-world issues and resources; and to engage students as advocates and learners in complex projects in a local context.
Teachers, curriculum specialists, and staff members collaborate with Sustainability Ambassadors to plan the project. Sustainability Ambassadors is a non-profit dedicated to supporting sustainable practices in our area. They had a previous partnership with a local water treatment organization. Science teachers work with Sustainability Ambassadors to design lessons and units that involve working directly in the field with the water treatment staff.
Teachers engage through individual interest and are paid for their time to collaborate to create the resources. They teach these lessons and then have time to share their experiences and refine the resources. District support ensures that the resources are shared with all teachers. Students in participating teachers’ classrooms are able to work in the field with our community partners and have leadership opportunities through student government. Several students also advocate for sustainability actions to the school board.
Related Resources
Community Partners
Curriculum
Measures
Professional Learning
Community Partners
Sustainability Ambassadors, an organization that partners with the Lake Washington School District, is a professional development program for student leaders, teacher leaders, and community leaders committed to educating for sustainability by aligning classroom rigor with community relevance for real-world impact. They initiate collective impact campaigns, benchmark improvements in sustainable community conditions, and report progress to peers, parents, planners, and policy makers using the informed voice of youth. Real-world performance measures serve as both entry points and outcomes for problem-based, place-based curriculum design. This approach motivates students to apply academic excellence in the context of community impact.
Sustainability Ambassadors was key in providing grant money and strategic planning for this project. They are also connected with other districts and schools, as this is part of a regional project. Resources developed in this collaborative are shared with multiple districts. Sustainability Ambassadors also regularly partners with the local water treatment center and facilitates that shared work.
Curriculum
Our district uses the Next Generation Science Standards. Sustainability concepts are embedded in the NGSS, so lessons and experiences designed in this project can be embedded in our Biology and Chemistry classes at the high school level.
Measures
The teachers in the project measure learning through classroom-based assessments and student engagement outside the classroom. Students demonstrate their engagement through working with the water treatment center, organizing activities with their Associated Student Body (ASB) and student body, and speaking out and doing advocacy work with additional groups, including our school board.
Professional Learning
We have a flexible and comprehensive professional learning plan in our district. Schools and departments are able to access release days and paid meeting times after school for collaborative work. Our teachers have previously attended professional learning opportunities with Sustainability Ambassadors. They have also been working in collaborative groups based on courses that they taught, so we have a natural structure in place to deepen the work.
Support Structures
Sustainability Ambassadors sought grants to support this regional work. Part of their grant proposal included having LWSD as a partner and beneficiary. Approaching the work as a project with multiple stakeholders helped with funding and also gave a deeper sense of relevance and purpose to it.
The Future of this Work
The teachers will continue to work in professional learning communities that are embedded in our school and district structure. These groups will work to expand the lessons and projects and share them with teachers across the district. We will continue to partner with Sustainability Ambassadors and look for additional community partners.
