For kids with a budding interest in science, a local school will ignite their curiosity and creativity. Santa Barbara Charter School has served the community since 1993 and, in addition to teaching arts and other academic subjects, its science-focused programs help students cultivate a love for the subject.
“Our science programming is one where students build science habits, skills, and core concepts needed to develop lifelong learners who are successful in school and are responsible, informed stewards of our democratic society and environment,” director of education Laura Donner said. “We focus on providing hand-on science lessons where children experiment with phenomena and learn through doing.”
Here’s how the science program gets kids curious and creative.
Classroom learning is active
Students practice asking questions and developing hypotheses. Teachers then help with hands-on experiments that demonstrate scientific principles in action.
“Recently, the students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades learned about chemical versus physical change,” Donner said. “Students made a cabbage juice indicator, and then used that in an invisible writing activity. They tested various materials for acid or base and then recorded the results in their science journal.”
Santa Barbara Charter School also took advantage of a grant to teach the metric system, important to understanding scientific measurements.
“Our science specialist and parent volunteers installed more than four interactive playground measurement opportunities,” Donner said. “Metric weather tools were placed around campus. Parents painted metric measurements on the sidewalk and play structures, as well as included comparisons, such as the length of a blue whale. Other parents built animal silhouettes and educational signage to educate students about animals in the environment and their relative sizes.”
Families are involved
Not only do families volunteer, they also get involved in other activities that support learning, such as local creek walks, beach visits, and family field trips. That’s because the school considers caregivers to be its educational partners.
“School is not just for students and teachers to interact; it is also the place where the community orchestrates its learning and growth objectives for the next generation,” Donner said. “Family involvement is the bridge for that orchestration to take place. They are involved in all aspects of the school’s operation.”
Additionally, Santa Barbara Charter School offers HomeBased Partnership to support families who homeschool, and that includes science programming. One participant in the program won a $10,000 award last year for her research on combating period poverty.
Venturing out of the classroom aids learning
Going outside the classroom deepens in-class work.
“We recognize that children learn everywhere and all the time, and believe that learning takes place when students have an opportunity to construct meaning from their own experiences,” Donner said.
