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Ryan Elementary > Math and Science Focus
Page Content
Ryan Elementary Math and Science Focus School Overview
History and background
In November of 2004, the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education selected Ryan Elementary to be the district’s first Science and Math Focus Program. Using a Design Team structure with teachers, parents and district administrators involved, Ryan began creating their vision for the math and science focus. This team gathered best practice data on a national level, visited model programs throughout the country, and created our new vision for the school.
Ryan is fortunate to be classified as both a K-5 neighborhood school and a focus school. This means that Ryan students receive all of the exemplary programming offered through the traditional BVSD curriculum and additional course study emphasizing the areas of math and science. Being a neighborhood focus school also means that students who live inside Ryan’s boundary area (generally south Lafayette) are automatically admitted to Ryan and do not need to go through open enrollment. Students within the neighborhood boundary may also receive bus service to and from school.
Ryan’s classification as a focus school with an emphasis on math and science means that students can look forward to a focused program of study and enrichment integrated throughout the school curriculum. Students learn from experts in the fields of engineering and medicine, hands-on exploration of physical, life and earth science concepts in our science lab, computer lab, and chef’s lab, special field trips and assemblies that advance the school’s curriculum, and opportunities for even more in-depth analysis and acceleration through Ryan’s classroom and expanded TAG programming.
Ryan's Math & Science Curriculum and Programs
What’s the difference between program and curriculum?
Investigations, standards, FOSS, curriculum…what does it all mean? On a national, state and local level, content standards have been developed for each content area. These standards outline what students should know, understand and be able to do in the subject area over the course of their K-12 education. Using those standards as a guide, curriculum is then developed. The goal of a curriculum is to develop a consistent continuum of learning from kindergarten through high school to ensure proficiency for all students. Programs are learning materials purchased to support the teaching and learning of important concepts and ideas. Programs such as Investigations for math and FOSS for science have been developed with standards in mind. These programs, simply put, help teachers deliver the curriculum to students.
Here’s just one example of how all these “things” work together to help your child learn. In Science, standard 4 states, “Students know and understand the structure, processes, interactions, and dynamics of the Earth and other objects in space.” In first grade the curriculum outlines that students will “explore components of rock mixtures, compare properties of rocks, identify ingredients in different soils and explore the sources humans use for gathering earth materials”. The program used to deliver this curriculum is FOSS Pebbles, Sand and Silt. Again in third grade, students study that standard in a more in-depth fashion and use the FOSS kit Earth Materials. This strand is again revisited in 5th grade as students use the FOSS kit Landforms to form the big picture of Earth processes.
Still want to know more? The following websites will give you a place to start and a wealth of information:
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