Every child is born a scientist, full of wonder, curiosity, and a desire to explore, and elementary school is the perfect time to expand on that natural interest. We have the opportunity to do that through the Elementary Science Initiative, a community effort to bring new science curriculum to our district’s more than 8,000 elementary students.

Did you know our state took back $1.45 million from our local school budget this year? This was a huge unprecedented action, and as a result our district cannot fund the full curriculum purchase. It has committed $700,000 for one third of the curriculum and teacher training and development, and community groups are working to raise the remaining $500,000.

We were a bit underwhelmed with the science instruction when our kids were in primary school, so we fed our kids’ curiosity with family field trips and home projects. The new curriculum materials are fantastic – captivating, diverse, full of hands-on experiences, and in sync with our state’s new standards. Let’s make sure our youngest students have this exciting, challenging curriculum to foster a lifelong interest in the wide world of science. It will serve them well personally, help them transition to the higher rigor of middle school and high school science, and maybe even lead them to rewarding career options. Please, visit issaquahscience.org by June 30 to learn more and help fund this important cause.

Camille Vaska, parent, community volunteer, and big fan of science