This fall students at Cascade High School in Leavenworth have been studying what the large scale disappearance of American Pikas from regions experiencing warmer summers and decreased winter snowpack can tell us about energy and matter in the environment and the...
Partner stories
These stories are a collection of educator professional learning experiences and opportunities provided by ESD, CBO and Tribal School partners.

Partner Stories
Growing Interest in Elementary Science- A Schoolyard Garden Initiative
Olympic Educational Service District 114 has recently launched the Growing Elementary Science schoolyard garden initiative. This year long project began with thirty-five elementary teachers learning the science behind plant growth and how to anchor science learning...
Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines: Forest Ecosystems Benefits – Carbon Sequestration
August 15th and 16th, in picturesque Battle Ground, 18 educators, along with 3 community partners, attended a Pacific Education Institute workshop on the role of Washington's forests in climate change resiliency. PEI faculty gave presentations on local anchoring...
Elementary Teachers Prepare For NGSS-Aligned Instruction
During the week of August 12 to August 16, more that 220 elementary teachers from 20 public school districts prepared to implement new science units based on the Next Generation Science Standards at ESD 105 in Yakima, WA. The teachers took on the role of students as...
IslandWood Teacher Professional Development Workshop in Tukwila
On September 28th, 16 teachers and educators gathered at Cascade View Elementary School in Tukwila to participate in IslandWood's "NGSS in Action: Science in the Schoolyard" workshop. Together, they dove into discussions of "three dimensional" science learning, and...
2019 NCESD STEM Summit Provides a Wealth of Professional Development Opportunities
August 13th through the 15th saw the hustle and bustle of over 250 teachers participating in the 2019 NCESD STEM Summit. The event was held at the Wenatchee Convention Center in downtown Wenatchee. The Summit offered over 100 different STEM related sessions ranging in...
Digging to Make Sense of Earth Changes
The Earth Systems and Changes project brought together K-6 teachers from Southeast Washington to experience place based, local field experiences at the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site to understand Earth systems, changes, and climate science in the context of natural and...
Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines: Writing Workshop – Focus on Fire
Over the course of three days (August 19th-21st), half a dozen educators from around the state joined Pacific Education Institute staff in Castle Rock to write curriculum on fire science, with the goal that they will help facilitate PEI workshops on this topic during...
IslandWood Teacher Professional Development Workshop in Woodinville
On August 9th, seven teachers and educators ventured to the Brightwater Educational Center in Woodinville to explore local environmental phenomena to anchor within their classroom science units. Together, teams dove into their understandings and applications of Next...