By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Three school districts, including Eatonville, will share a nearly $900,000 state-issued grant for raising the level of teaching of math and science. The Mathematics and Science Partnership grant will be used to help increase student achievement in math and science through joint efforts between schools and university faculties in science, technology, engineering and math. The program provides professional learning for teachers to enhance their content knowledge and classroom instructional skills. A three-year, $872,000 grant will be split three ways between the Eatonville, Rochester and Steilacoom school districts. They formed a coalition in order to qualify for a grant, which Eatonville superintendent Krestin Bahr said they couldn't have done individually because of their relatively small student enrollments. "We'll bring our teachers together to learn and work together,GÇ¥ Bahr said. The Eatonville staff will begin preparing by attending grant workshops this month and over the summer. Starting next school year and continuing through the 2017-18 school year, teachers in grades six through 12 will be collaborating with their counterparts in the Rochester and Steilacoom districts, plus math professors from University of Washington-Tacoma and Pacific Lutheran University. Also involved is Teacher Development Group (TDG), a consultant from Portland, Ore. that will help coordinate the group effort. TDG and the universities will be compensated through the grant for their efforts. Teachers will learn instructional models by working alongside each other in workshops and observing best-method techniques in actual classrooms. "What a wonderful piece of news to add to all of the amazing things happening in the Eatonville School District,GÇ¥ School Board member Paulette Gilliardi said in an e-mail. The Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) supports the improvement of math and science instruction and learning through partnerships between school districts, institutions of higher learning, and educational organizations such as education service districts, which provide specialized programs for public schools. MSP s funded through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The state superintendent of public instruction's office currently funds 10 MSP projects across Washington. The Eatonville-Steilacoom-Rochester triumvirate is one of seven grant recipients that were announced recently. Among them are the Seattle and Renton school districts, which are working together, and the Marysville School District. Before being accepted, each grant proposal was scored by a team of 19 reviewers and went through a two-part review process that included grant applicants explaining their work plans.
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