Introducing the BaySci Team!
Author: Anna Babarinde
Published: 10.08.14
I’d like to introduce you to an amazing team of educators who are working as NGSS pioneers for Sonoma County. This group of ten teachers, known as the BaySci Leadership Team, represents nine districts and a striking level of experience and expertise in K-8 science education. They are:
- Laura Barnard | Monte Rio Union
- Carrie Barnes | Windsor Unified
- Tara Carter | Dunham
- Eric Brockway | Sonoma Valley Unified
- Mary Fitch | Twin Hills Union
- Carrie Forrest | Piner-Olivet Union
- Victoria Hill | Oak Grove Union
- Jody Venard | Rincon Valley Union
- Kimberly Walls | Santa Rosa City
- Steve Williams | Santa Rosa City
Origins of the team
Ironically, the team’s origins lies not in science, but in close reading—a Common Core ELA strategy. Flashback to January 2013 when SCOE decided to take a leap of faith and ask for applications for a teacher-leader cadre focused on receiving and giving training in close reading. The result was a team of seven educators who worked together for two years, developing teacher-driven professional learning that was offered throughout the county.
As a member of that cadre, I can tell you that it was a big commitment and represented a lot of extra hours and brainpower! The experience of collaborating with educators of such a high caliber was amazing and invigorating. It gave me a broader and deeper understanding of education.
Flash forward to Spring 2014.
SCOE continues to value teacher leadership and teacher-driven professional learning and asked for applications from K-8 teachers interested in being part of a team focused on NGSS. The result is the BaySci team. This group attended a week of training at the Lawrence Hall of Science during the summer. As the only county group (all others were school and district based) and the only K-8 team (everyone else was K-6), our Sonoma County group was unique.
The Lawrence Hall program is also called BaySci, which brings up an important distinction. While our team has taken the BaySci name, it doesn’t represent Lawrence Hall; it represents Sonoma County education and leadership. So maybe we could call them SoCo BaySci. :-)
The team completed the summer training with a deeper understanding of NGSS and a renewed zeal to focus on science, particularly inquiry, in the classroom during the 2014-15 school year. These leaders will continue to attend trainings this year as they try out aspects of NGSS in their own teaching practice.
The team is also meeting periodically at SCOE. It has met twice so far and has established some exciting goals for the year. These include communicating with all stakeholders (parents, teachers, administrators, etc.) about NGSS and the changes we can expect, developing a collective blog to make resources available to other teachers, and building a collaboration model for science across grade levels.
This might sound overwhelming, especially given that these are all full-time classroom teachers, but they bring so much creativity and positive energy to the room that we leave the meetings feeling excited, not worn out. That’s one of the amazing things about this group.
So … why am I telling you all of this?
First, I wanted to make it known that this group exists and that there are educators on the front lines of NGSS making its ideals become reality. If nothing else, that is an encouraging thought. Second, these are names and faces that you may be seeing in the future. 2014-15 is a year for them to learn and experiment, but next year they’ll be ready to come alongside you as you also plunge into the NGSS adventure. And the benefit of having pioneers not only blazing the trail, but also traveling with you, is true encouragement. So be on the lookout for the BaySci team! They’re people you won’t want to miss. :-)
Blog: Exploring NGSS
