An Advanced Elementary Science Leadership Institute

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9353237 Sprague The Mesa, AZ Public School District is a national leader in promoting the use of hands-on inquiry-based science teaching in elementary schools. The Mesa approach to elementary science is one of the models used by the National Science Resources Center in the NSF-supported Leadership Institute that has been attended by teams from 126 school districts. These districts, as well as other districts that are implementing changes inspired by the Mesa model, encounter many of the same barriers to organizational change, the same logistical problems relating to science materials in the classroom, and the same questions concerning professional development of teachers and school administrators. For this reason, the Mesa Education Foundation will host a three-day Advanced Leadership Conference for teams from districts that are implementing change efforts in elementary science. Dow Chemical and Hewlett-Packard have supported the change efforts in many of these districts, and both companies will be contributors to the conference. The conference will focus on three strands: organizational change, management of science materials centers, and staff development. This conference will facilitate: 1) advanced training by staff from exemplary districts, 2) sharing of ideas and strategies among the districts that are implementing change, and 3) formulation of widely applicable change indicators and a model for technical assistance to school districts. The proposed conference has an excellent format, an outstanding leadership team, and a solid plan for disseminating the results of the meeting. The potential impact of this conference extends beyond the districts that will send representatives. Cost sharing for this project represents 125% of the NSF contribution. ***