Approve Agreement for Technical Services for Florida Educational Tools - $8,000 (Curriculum and Instruction Division)

We request approval of the Agreement for Technical Services with Florida Educational Tools for training elementary science teachers involved in the Project CLASS (Collaborative Leaders Achieving Science Success) Grant, June – August 2008. The purpose of Project CLASS is to target teachers in order to promote exemplary science instruction by addressing content, collaboration, and leadership skills.

Florida Educational Tools, will provide two days of hands-on content-filled workshops that will target the areas of teacher deficiencies in science content as noted by the pre-test administered to teachers at the beginning of the CLASS Grant in September 2007. Florida Educational Tools staff will develop and deliver the workshop entitled, “Experiencing Hand-On Science Content” and will provide the pedagogical course activities, science supplies, and resources that not only meet the Sunshine State Standards, but also extend the teachers’ understanding to a much greater depth.

The teachers involved in this two-week summer institute will be provided the highest quality training in content and best practice in science instruction. Participants will utilize their new skills during the student camps in week three. The workshop will consist of 2 groups of 40 teachers each and will be held at Mort Elementary for 2 days, 6 hours per day. The ultimate goal of the CLASS Grant Project is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the classrooms of participating teachers in the grant, thus improving student performance. These two days of training are part of a two-week summer institute funded by the CLASS Grant. The selected participating schools are Edison, Mort, MOSI, Pizzo, Potter, and Witter Elementary Schools.

Goal 3 – Student performance on FCAT science will increase a minimum of five percentage points.

Funds of $8,000 are included in the CLASS Grant budget, Project 1406.

Students will be assessed for their understanding of physical science concepts taught in the summer camp with a pre-test and a post-test. The FCAT scores for the students involved in the summer camps will be compared to those students not participating