Lead the Way Schools

Read more about these West Virginia schools Leading the Way to the Next Generation!

Prichard Elementary School, Wayne County

Prichard Elementary School in Wayne County set out on its journey with
FOSS in 2012 with a goal to increase student engagement and improve achievement in science and writing. Students at Prichard receive 60 - 75 minutes of daily science instruction. Writing is embedded into science when students take informal notes, answer focus questions with evidence, and complete other writing projects related to science. Prichard Leads the Way with the highest science test scores in Wayne County’s elementary schools with 53% of the students passing the 2015 WESTEST2 Science Assessment.
 

Leon Elementary School, Mason County

In 2008, Tate Hayman, science teacher at Leon Elementary School in Mason County, attended a summer workshop sponsored by the June Harless Center. During the workshop, Mr. Hayman was introduced to and trained on FOSS modules. While FOSS serves as the core of the science program, Leon’s students also experience science in the school yard through gardening and conducting experiments with solar energy. Mr. Hayman’s focus on developing rich vocabulary and incorporating engineering projects has propelled Leon to Lead the Way in science in Mason County Schools.
 

“I came to Leon Elementary seven years ago. Growing up, I was taught Science out of a book. Granted, a Science book is necessary to guide your curriculum, but until your students can experience the hands-on of FOSS, they will never experience Science the way it is meant to be taught! As an Administrator, the out of the box  thinking each child does, the questions and answers received from each project is absolutely amazing. If your school is missing out on this, then your students are missing out on a great Science curriculum.”
- Don Bower, Principal, Leon Elementary

West Side Elementary, KanAwha County

Students and teachers in several classrooms at West Side Elementary began to Lead the Way with FOSS Next Generation in 2014. FOSS was selected by the school administration because of its research base to provide students hands-on learning opportunities. Through a community grant, West Side set out to provide students with rich experiences in science and STEM. By engaging in STEM through FOSS investigations, maker-space activities, and schoolyard excursions, students in FOSS classrooms had a significantly higher reading pass rate on the 2015 SBAC Reading Test than students not experiencing FOSS (30% compared to 6%).