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Published on 05/26/1997 All articles from this issue

Los Altos, local school districts share H-P grant for science education

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By Carol Tiegs / Town Crier Staff Writer

Los Altos and Cupertino Union school districts are among eight area school districts receiving a total of $5.6 million in grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve science instruction in grades K-6.

Mountain View, Palo Alto Unified, Menlo Park, Redwood City, Santa Clara Unified and Whisman (Mountain View) school districts also share in the grants, which will be awarded over five years.

The eight school districts are part of the Bay Area Schools for Excellence in Education (BASEE) consortium, led by Hewlett-Packard (H-P). Schools in the BASEE group participate in H-P's Hands-on Science Program, which helps teachers who are generalists become more effective at teaching science. H-P has donated $90,000, split over three years, to each BASEE school, in addition to computer equipment and support.

School teachers received training at the National Sciences Resources Center in Washington, D.C. The NSF grant will permit the development of a hands-on science curriculum and training for teachers and administrators.

"We're very pleased to be sharing in the grant and excited about the opportunities it offers," said Dick Liewer, Los Altos School District assistant superintendent. He said the Los Altos share of the grant amounts to approximately $250,000 over five years.

Liewer emphasized that the grant funds are strictly designated for use in teaching teachers to teach science. "These dollars do not go into the general fund," he said.

The BASEE program was one of four selected for grants by the NSF from more than 150 applicants nationwide. The grant will include a three-pronged training program for teachers. One track is designed for new teachers and those new to science curricula, and introduces them to hands-on science kits. The second track provides ongoing professional development to teachers, including effective teaching strategies. The third track provides leadership opportunities for teachers.

"With this NSF grant, they'll be able to get more professional development in science and further enrich the science curriculum for their students," said Nancy Thomas, H-P's contributions manager.

Additional funding and in-kind support has been pledged to the BASEE program by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Noyce Foundation, Raytheon Corporation and Stanford Linear Accelerator.