What is a Science Kit Cooperative?
Any public or private school/district residing in the NEWESD 101 region is eligible to join the Science Kit Cooperative.
We currently serve approximately 200 teachers and over 800 students in 22 districts (28 buildings) within the NEWESD 101 region.
Our goal is to provide quality hands-on materials and professional development that allow for successful implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the Physical, Earth, and Life science strands with a STEM focus.
Students are more engaged and focused when working on hands-on investigations - even those who fidget during larger group sessions. This style of learning helps all types of learners, from kinesthetic to social to tactile as well as our high-needs and special education students. The investigations are phenomenon-based in order to "hook" the students and help them engage during their learning.
We would love the opportunity to discuss our program with you and see how we might be able to work together!
How It Works
Participating districts purchase a share in the kits which are rotated among different schools throughout the year on a trimester-based schedule. This sharing of ownership of the kits make equitable science access more cost-effective across all of our districts.
What Has Changed in the Science Kit Cooperative?
If you have never been a member of the Cooperative before, or if you had been at one time, we have made some changes in the past year.
Each unit supports one classroom of students. For elementary, grades K-2 support up to 24 students per class and grades 3-5 support up to 30 students. For middle school, grades 6-8 support up to 32.
Through a generous grant from Innovia, we are now able to offer the newest version of the K-5 kits: the "Building Blocks of Science (BBS) 3D" version. This allows more complete access to digital resources for the kits, allowing teachers to assign activities and student book reading online. The new Smithsonian STC-MS kits have been adopted for grades 6-8, which also have access to digital resources.
COVID Precautions. We take COVID precautions seriously. The investigation materials in the kits have been packaged differently than in the past. When it was possible, we packaged the materials individually for students or tried to bring down from groups of 4 to pairs. This wasn't always possible given the types of materials in the kits, but we did so where we were able. (It may be necessary for schools to buy-in to more kits to ensure students receive 1:1 materials.) Items such as safety glasses are washed during refurbishment periods, items such as clay and playdough are packaged wearing gloves.
Materials Support
Along with the Science Kit Cooperative, we are also able to order materials support/refurbishment services for curriculums that are outside the scope of our offered titles. For example, we are able to offer supplies for the refurbishment of Project Lead the Way (PLTW), OpenSciEd, etc.
For More Information
Beth Worthy, Science Kit Manager
(509) 789-3525 | [email protected]
Michelle Grove, Elementary Regional Science Coordinator
(509) 789-3757 |
[email protected]
Tammie Schrader, Secondary Regional Science Coordinator
(509) 323-2725 | [email protected]
Erik Wolfrum, Director
(509) 789-3551 |
[email protected]