A team of 12 Washington state educators—OSPI, Regional Science Coordinators, and teacher leaders—attended the OpenSciEd Elementary Facilitator Academy in Denver, CO, June 19-24 with support from the Climetime project and Williams Foundation. This week-long immersion...
Partner stories
These stories are a collection of educator professional learning experiences and opportunities provided by ESD, CBO and Tribal School partners.

NCESD 171
North Central ESD implements Climate Science and NGSS Professional Learning to area educators by leveraging collaboration opportunities among NCESD staff, community-based organizations, and other regional ESDs. The collaboration efforts extend to building teams of teachers that work together to create authentic climate science experiences for their students.
Outdoor Experiences Bring Students Alongside Professionals in the Field
The NCESD expanded the STEAM in the Field programing this year! This program brings local students out in the field at Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife areas near them to work alongside the professionals that are doing science and taking action everyday....
Empowering Teachers with Tools to Teach Students the Language of Hope and Action in Climate Change
Language acquisition and literacy support students in building hope and taking action against climate change. Educators need tools to bring climate change literacy to the classroom so in 2018 Kate Austin and Sara Martinez co-developed the Voices of Hope GLAD unit....
Elementary Science Integration Brings Teachers Together Across the North Central Region
On a beautiful, sunny Saturday in March, a dozen elementary teachers arrived at the NCESD office to kick off a multisession cohort learning about, planning, and implementing integrated Life Science and English Language Arts lessons. The cohort includes teachers from...
In Washington, Students Learn About Climate Change Like Nowhere Else
Food justice classes and mock G7 summits are on the curriculum in the first US state to fund “climate change education” in public schools. In science teacher Ali Coker’s sophomore biology class, students became farming activists attending a G7 summit. Coker wove in...
Rural Students Bring Climate Conversations into the Community
When Celia Cummings started teaching Waterville High School’s first environmental science class, she discovered that many of her students came from families that doubt the science of climate change. Celia was enrolled in a climate justice focused professional...
Green Chemistry and Sustainable Design Continue to Excite Teachers About Ways to Engage Students
In a continued partnership with the Washington Department of Ecology’s Green Chemist, Saskia van Bergen and the NCESD’s Regional Science Coordinator, Cari Haug offered a fully asynchronous Canvas Course designed to support teachers in learning about the principles of...
Opening Minds to Learning, Action, and Hope.
Ever wonder how to talk to students about climate change and how to empower them to take action? Many elementary teachers in Washington State wonder about this too! In an effort to support teachers, Regional Science Coordinators in Tri-Cities, Yakima, Wenatchee, and...
Teachers Learn What’s Hot and What’s Not about Wildland Fire
“Right here we’re in a transition zone. This is where the shrub steppe transitions to the pine forest, and you can see a lot of space between the trees. That’s healthy!” Dave Spies led the educators of North-Central Washington on a half-mile interpretive walk through...