Anoka-Hennepin Schools Invites Parents to Weigh in on Science Curriculum
The Anoka-Hennepin School District is changing part of their science curriculum, and they are inviting the public to weigh in on Nov. 17.
They are specifically considering new curriculum for chemistry, honors chemistry and elementary science.
“These new standards and these new curriculum standards will really best address how students learn science to give them more opportunity to how they apply scientific processes to how they learn science,” said John Wolhaupter, a staff member involved in the curriculum change. “Much like science changes all the time as we learn new information. We learn more about how students learn.”
Currently, 14 of 26 elementary school sites are piloting two curriculum that will be considered.
If you cannot attend the Nov. 17 event at the Educational Service Center in Anoka, you can check out the materials virtually if you register online first.
“We really look forward to getting feedback,” said Wolhaupter.
FULL RELEASE:
High school chemistry and elementary science curriculum open house set for Nov. 17
(10/26/2022) Anoka-Hennepin School District families, students, staff, and community members are invited to review three new curriculum options and provide feedback. The district will offer both in-person and virtual open house opportunities in November.
These new curriculum options are in the areas of high school chemistry, high school honors chemistry, and elementary science.
The resources will be available for community viewing on Nov. 17 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Educational Service Center in Anoka. For parties unable to attend the in-person meeting, resources are available to view virtually from Nov. 17-23.
High school chemistry
Anoka-Hennepin is considering new curriculum materials for Chemistry I, which is typically taken by sophomores.
The new curriculum materials will support the transition of Chemistry I to the new 2019 Minnesota Science Standards. The standards put an increased focus on student discussion and inquiry as they study science phenomena and use the engineering design process to solve problems.
Two sets of materials are being piloted during the first and second trimesters of the 2022-23 school year to support student learning through the new standards: Experience Chemistry from Savvas and Inspire Chemistry from McGraw-Hill.
High school honors chemistry
Anoka-Hennepin is considering new curriculum materials for Honors Chemistry I, which is typically taken by sophomores.
The new curriculum materials will support the transition of Honors Chemistry I to the new 2019 Minnesota Science Standards. Honors Chemistry I currently uses college-level chemistry materials, so the materials being considered are college-level texts. A possible outcome of this process is a recommendation to use the same materials as Chemistry I with additional district-generated materials to support honors-level work for students.
Two sets of materials are being piloted during the first and second trimesters of the 2022-23 school year to support student learning through the new standards: Chemistry: An Atoms-focused Approach from WW Norton and AP Chemistry from McGraw-Hill.
Elementary science
This fall, Anoka-Hennepin began piloting science resources at the elementary level. Fourteen of the 26 elementary sites are piloting two curriculums: Into Science and twigScience. These resources were selected by a study committee formed in January of 2021. Both sets of resources are aligned to the 2019 Minnesota Science Standards and approach science learning through phenomena based instruction.
Open house information:
In-person: 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Educational Service Center, 2727 N Ferry St., Anoka.
Virtual: Nov. 17-23. Participants will be provided links and videos to review online. Interested participants must register online by Monday, Nov. 14.
The review committee will present recommendations to the School Board for approval in June 2023. Pending approval, the new curriculum will be implemented for the 2023-24 school year.
