Everett board advances Open SciEd elementary science adoption to second reading

The Everett Public Schools board on May 13 moved a proposed adoption of Open SciEd, a Next Generation Science Standards–aligned curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade, to second reading after a district review and classroom field tests.

The adoption committee said the recommendation matters because Open SciEd is designed to center students as “scientists and engineers” and to align K–8 instruction across the district, which committee members and field-test teachers said should improve coherence of science learning and access to hands-on instruction.

The committee reviewed 20 candidate programs, narrowed the field to 10 and then two finalists, and field-tested lessons in K–5 classrooms. Andrea Cartwright, who led the adoption team as the district director overseeing P–12 science and engineering, said the committee “unanimously recommends Open SciEd” because the materials are phenomenon-based, include multiple supports for diverse learners and provide instructional routines that promote collaborative sense-making.

Committee members reported 900 students and 34 teachers participated in district field testing. Mill Creek Elementary STEM specialist Steven Harvey, who field-tested Open SciEd, told the board, “it was also the only curriculum that I heard students repeatedly asking for more of it.” Teachers participating in the field test praised student engagement, the committee said.

Implementation planning presented to the board calls for a two‑year phase-in: units 1 and 2 at each grade in year one and units 3 and 4 in year two, so that grade‑level teams across the district teach units in the same sequence. The committee estimated material and training costs and proposed using the district’s Science Resource Center to assemble hands‑on kits; the presentation compared an outside distributor estimate (about $350,000 per grade‑level units) with the resource center’s capacity to build two units for a similar or lower cost.

The plan also includes “just‑in‑time” professional learning: targeted training for teachers on the specific units shortly before they implement them, plus ongoing instructional support from district facilitators. Shannon Lacy, P–12 science instructional facilitator, told the board she is “super excited” to support teachers through the transition and called K–8 alignment a central benefit of the adoption.

By general consent the board voted to move the recommendation to a second reading; no final adoption occurred at the May 13 meeting. If the board approves the item at second reading, the district will begin the staggered implementation and the corresponding training schedule outlined by staff and the adoption committee.