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OSPI Updates:

Since Time Immemorial, Outdoor Learning, and

Open Educational Resources

June 26, 2023

Sheila Wilson, Secondary Content Team, OSPI

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Welcome!

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Vision

All students prepared for post-secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement.

Mission

Transform K–12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities.

Values

Ensuring Equity
Collaboration and Service
Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement
Focus on the Whole Child

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Equity Statement

Each student, family, and community possesses strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools.

Ensuring educational equity:

Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and highly mobile student populations.
Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision-making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools.

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Office of Native Education

With permission from the Office of Native Education , I will share some resources with you. FIRST take a look at this BINGO card, which we will do individually today. (2-3 minutes)

Review 3-4 boxes (3-4 minutes)

Why is there still this special focus on Native students? In 2022, 68% of Native American students graduated in 4 years, lower than the statewide rate of 82%. As a country, we are still healing from this intergenerational trauma.

Treaties were signed locally about 6 generations ago. You will hear people locally feeling quite proud of having their families homestead for 3, 4, 5 generations, 100 years.

Let’s remember that our tribal nations have lived here according to some archaeological evidence as long as 10,000 years ago. That’s 380 generation! 380 generations of living on and with the land, and developing Traditional Ecological knowledge that they were abruptly severed from during colonization. We still have work to do!

Within the Office of Native Education, you will find the Since Time Immemorial Curriculum.

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Since Time Immemorial

2015 - Senate Bill 5433 requires STI to be taught in all schools

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Since Time Immemorial

2015 - Senate Bill 5433 requires STI to be taught in all schools

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Seasonal Rounds - Heidi Bohan

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Roger Fernandez Videos

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Outdoor Education Update

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Legislation:

HB 2078

Passed Spring 2022

Written in 4 parts

Let’s get the kids outside!

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTwKTg4Y8jGWXubIoaFSaXsJnO1KNRYVChDTA&usqp=CAU

https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/8696750596

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HB 2078 Section 1: Why?

The passage of this legislation was a pivotal moment for outdoor education in our state, an acknowledgement of the real need for students to connect with their communities while learning outdoors within the context of the life-sustaining ecosystems that support us all. The bill was written in 4 sections. I was so excited to see that the legislature was staying up to date on the current research from within the environmental education community. Time outdoors helps children thrive physically, emotionally, and academically yet the average kid spends less than 10 mins a day in nature

(1) The legislature finds that time 5outdoors helps children thrive physically, emotionally, and 6academically, yet over the past few generations, childhood has moved 7indoors. On average, today's kids spend up to 44 hours per week in 8front of a screen, and less than 10 minutes a day doing activities 9outdoors. For too many kids, access to the outdoors is determined by 10race, income, ability, and zip code. All children deserve equitable 11access to outdoor spaces where they can learn, play, and grow, but 12current access to outdoor educational opportunities is inequitable.13

(2) From stress reduction to improved focus and engagement, and 14better academic performance, outdoor-based learning helps kids 15thrive. Research shows participants in outdoor educational activities 16have higher graduation rates, improved behavior in school and 17relationships with peers, higher academic achievement, critical 18thinking skills, direct experience of scientific concepts in the 19field, leadership and collaboration skills, and a deeper engagement 20with learning, place, and community. Outdoor educational programs 21

also offer new opportunities for work-integrated learning in science, 1natural resources, education, land management, agriculture, outdoor 2recreation, and other employment sectors. Outdoor-based learning 3activities can also be a key element in the larger system of regular 4outdoor instructional time and outdoor experiences that includes STEM 5fields, after-school programs, summer camps, 4-H, scouting, and 6related programs which can spark a lifelong appreciation for the 7natural world.8

(3) The legislature further finds that accessibility is a major 9obstacle to universal outdoor education. Most sites lack 10accommodation for children with disabilities and support staff for 11children who need social and emotional support. In addition, some 12youth may experience cultural barriers to outdoor learning 13experiences.14

(4) Therefore, the legislature intends to establish a statewide 15grant program and corresponding outdoor education experiences program 16to address these needs and to ensure that all students have a chance 17to benefit from outdoor education.

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HB 2078

Section 2:

Outdoor Learning Grants

Section 3:

Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences

$1.95 million

$1.85 million

$5.9 million

Section 2 Established two “Outdoor Learning Grants” programs

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences program

OSPI oversees all 3 pots of funding - in Section 2, the iGrants runs through my office and goes directly to schools and school districts. The other Outdoor Learning Grants run through the Recreation and Conservation Office for Community based organizations, mostly non profits, but also tribes, local governments and state agencies.

Both Outdoor Learning Grants are aimed to serve all public school students prek-12 for multi-day outdoor learning experiences that create work integrated learning in science, natural resources, education, land management, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and more.

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor School program to be overseen by WSPEF, also the home of AWSP and “Outdoor Schools Washington” to provide OOEE for 5th and 6th grade students for up to 5 days, and related experiences for high school counselors.

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Outdoor based learning that includes…

Aligned and integrated curriculum

NGSS
Since Time Immemorial
Social Emotional Learning

Equitable access for all geographic regions
High levels of accessibility for students with disabilities

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Eligibility Criteria:

Communities historically underserved by science

Tribal schools and communities
Rural and remote schools
Alternative Learning Environments
High poverty
Migrant Students
Black, Indigenous, People of Color
Emergent Multilingual Learners
Special Ed

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HB 2078

Section 2:

Outdoor Learning Grants

Section 3:

Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences

$1.95 million

$1.85 million

$5.9 million

. Section 2 Established two “Outdoor Learning Grants” programs

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences program

OSPI oversees all 3 pots of funding - in Section 2, the iGrants runs through my office and goes directly to schools and school districts. The other Outdoor Learning Grants run through the Recreation and Conservation Office for Community based organizations, mostly non profits, but also tribes, local governments and state agencies.

Both Outdoor Learning Grants are aimed to serve all public school students prek-12 for multi-day outdoor learning experiences that create work integrated learning in science, natural resources, education, land management, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and more.

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor School program to be overseen by WSPEF, also the home of AWSP and “Outdoor Schools Washington” to provide OOEE for 5th and 6th grade students for up to 5 days, and related experiences for high school counselors.

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HB 2078 Section 2 – OSPI Outdoor Education Grants

iGrants

$1.951M available
71 projects
37,669 students

OSPI Outdoor Learning Grants by Audience Served

Now let’s look at the 2 Outdoor Learning Grant programs established by Section 2, starting with the iGrants ran through OSPI. 140+ applications were started asking for more than $2.5M

With $1.95M available, 71 projects were funded serving 37,669 students

For the iGrants, we utilized a rubric to rank each of the 9 application questions. Projects were ranked based on parent and community involvement, student voice, regional impact, and eligibility. At a minimum, they had to create a program that directly served one of the 8 prioritized student audiences, or the entire school or district had to be above the state average for need in one of those same categories, as shown by OSPI’s Washington State Report Card, which tracks demographic data for every student prek-12. Here is a snapshot of how each iGrant project met the eligibility criteria. Applicants could identify more than one audience.

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OSPI Outdoor Education Grants by Project Type

Here is a snapshot of the different types of projects funded. You may notice the total is more than 71, as many projects incorporated more than one type of activity. Each type of project engages students in the real world around them, where they canapply their STEM knowledge to make their community a better place. Whether they are restoring salmon streams or pygmy rabbit habitat, monitoring the recovery of a local lake after a wildfire, growing food for their classmates and community, tending bees, or learning the traditional ecological knowledge from local tribes, each of these project represents unique and powerful learning opportunities.

Networking opportunities with different environmental departments like MidColumbia Fisheries, Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Reclamation, Yakama Nation, and Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department. In addition, the cultural significance of the ecology restoration work is integrated into the program to allow students to increase their knowledge and appreciation of the cultural significance of the work being done.

These activities reduce stress, improve student focus and engagement resulting in better academic performance, a reduction in anxiety, and an increase in problem solving and leadership skills while developing a deep sense of place within the community and connection to the lands.

Providing opportunities for underrepresented science students to see themselves in the STEM fields through visits to outdoor research institutions, conducting investigations in the field, and meeting diverse local STEM professionals and…indigenous naturalists.

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HB 2078

Section 2:

Outdoor Learning Grants

Section 3:

Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences

$1.95 million

$1.85 million

$5.9 million

. Section 2 Established two “Outdoor Learning Grants” programs

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences program

OSPI oversees all 3 pots of funding - in Section 2, the iGrants runs through my office and goes directly to schools and school districts. The other Outdoor Learning Grants run through the Recreation and Conservation Office for Community based organizations, mostly non profits, but also tribes, local governments and state agencies.

Both Outdoor Learning Grants are aimed to serve all public school students prek-12 for multi-day outdoor learning experiences that create work integrated learning in science, natural resources, education, land management, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and more.

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor School program to be overseen by WSPEF, also the home of AWSP and “Outdoor Schools Washington” to provide OOEE for 5th and 6th grade students for up to 5 days, and related experiences for high school counselors.

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HB 2078 Section 2:

RCO Outdoor Learning Grants

$1.85M available
17 projects
20,046 students

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High School Perception Shifts Before and After Camp

Extremely important before

Extremely important after

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Schools and Districts apply through iGrants
1 school year timeline
Up to $50,000

Community Based Orgs and Tribes apply through PRISM
2 year timeline
3 tiers, up to $300,000 max
Must partner with a school/district

Outdoor Learning Grants

For preK-12th Grade Programs

Eligible expenses for both:

Materials & supplies, including food
Buses and transportation
Staff time for CBOs
PD and stipends for teachers
Indirect expenses
and….?

Ineligible expenses for both:

Infrastructure/Capital Projects
Stipends for Students
Vehicles
and….?

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences program

OSPI oversees all 3 pots of funding - in Section 2, the iGrants runs through my office and goes directly to schools and school districts. The other Outdoor Learning Grants run through the Recreation and Conservation Office for Community based organizations, mostly non profits, but also tribes, local governments and state agencies.

Both Outdoor Learning Grants are aimed to serve all public school students prek-12 for multi-day outdoor learning experiences that create work integrated learning in science, natural resources, education, land management, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and more.

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor School program to be overseen by WSPEF, also the home of AWSP and “Outdoor Schools Washington” to provide OOEE for 5th and 6th grade students for up to 5 days, and related experiences for high school counselors.

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HB 2078

Section 2:

Outdoor Learning Grants

Section 3:

Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences

$1.95 million

$1.85 million

$5.9 million

. Section 2 Established two “Outdoor Learning Grants” programs

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences program

OSPI oversees all 3 pots of funding - in Section 2, the iGrants runs through my office and goes directly to schools and school districts. The other Outdoor Learning Grants run through the Recreation and Conservation Office for Community based organizations, mostly non profits, but also tribes, local governments and state agencies.

Both Outdoor Learning Grants are aimed to serve all public school students prek-12 for multi-day outdoor learning experiences that create work integrated learning in science, natural resources, education, land management, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and more.

Section 3 Created the Overnight Outdoor School program to be overseen by WSPEF, also the home of AWSP and “Outdoor Schools Washington” to provide OOEE for 5th and 6th grade students for up to 5 days, and related experiences for high school counselors.

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Overnight Outdoor Education Experiences through OSWA

Equity strategy: Calculating funding rates based on Equity Tool

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Characteristics of a High-Quality

Outdoor School

Intentional experiences to address the characteristics built into the 4 day, 3 night workshop

21st Century Skills

Experiential

Sensemaking

Social Emotional Learning

WA State Science Standards

Indigenous Knowledge

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OOEE is magic, and that magic is elevated when HS students are involved! When did you decide what you want to be when you grow up? Our own Hillary Franz credits Outdoor School with the inspiration for her career path. To increase the number of schools that use high school counselors, we are partnering with PEI to build CTE courses that would also allow students to graduate with a paraeducator certificate.

Career Connect Washington Program Builder

Co-design of a sequence of courses that prepare youth for a career in education

Focus on environmental and sustainability education (ESE)
Attain PESB paraeducator certificate (ESE endorsement?)
1st course intro to ESE and shadowing, direct teaching experiences and mentoring
2nd course about ⅔ direct teaching experience with debriefs
Alignment to Community & Technical Colleges (CTC)

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Student Population & Funding by ESD

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Student Population & Funding by ESD

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Remember those 8 different student audiences identified in the legislation as underserved in science? We worked with a data analyst at OSPI who was able to take the data from OSPI’s report card to rank each school district in the state based on their need for each of the 8 separate groups. He then aggregated these ranked lists to make this beautiful map. Here, we have a map of the aggregated metrics, that is overlaid with the district level funding.

Again, the more red the color of the districts, the higher rank in having more students in a greater number of equity metrics. Additionally, the more intense these heat density dots are, the more funding they received proportionally out of that funding group.

So this is the beginning of our process refinement. What else can we do? We are working within OSPI to create a new course code in CEDARS, the system used to generate the report card data, that can also track students through time. We can circle back to the intentions within HB 2078 to see if participation in these programs does have an impact on their academic achievement, graduation rates, behavior in school, attendance, and career trajectory, to name a few.

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81,000+ STUDENTS SERVED!!!!

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Key Shifts in Science Learning with NGSS

Phenomena-based
Coherent for students
Driven by Evidence
Collaborative
Equitable

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OSPI Science Updates

NGSS
Open Educational Resources
OpenSciEd

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Phenomena Based

Centered around figuring out phenomena or solving a problem

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Consider the image of the Dungeness Spit below:

What Science Ideas could students learn about about within this context?

What related phenomena could engage student curiosity?

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Consider the image of the Dungeness Spit below:

What Science Ideas could students learn about about within this context?

What related phenomena could engage student curiosity?

Why is Dungeness Spit located where it is?

What lives on Dungeness Spit & why are they successful in the space?

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Coherent for Students

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Driven by Evidence

Students ideas & questions determine the evidence to collect. They seek and use evidence to figure something out as they build and revise explanations.

Cheat Sheet

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Collaborative - We figure it out together!

Students have opportunities to use, build upon and critique others’ ideas. Students use evidence to support ideas, ask for evidence from others, and suggest ways to get additional evidence.

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Equitable - Classroom Culture Values All Ideas

Students have multiple opportunities to make sense individually and through small and whole group instruction. The class community values the diversity of resources students bring to science class including

language
gestures
metaphors
modes of expression
life, family and community expertise

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How can you help students figure it out?

Phenomena-based
Coherent for students
Driven by Evidence
Collaborative
Equitable

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NGSS Designed Instructional Materials

Free Open Source Instructional Materials (Openscied.org)

High Quality

Storyline Instructional Model

Currently 6-12 grade - elementary field test begins August 2023

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OpenSciEd Storyline Instructional Model

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★

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Individual resources are here

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Stay in Touch!

OSPI Outdoor Learning K-12: sheila.wilson@k12.wa.us

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OSPI Official Agency Tribal Land Acknowledgement

(applies to those hosting, presenting or speaking from the Old Capitol Building or the ancestral lands of the Squaxin Island people)

Squaxin Island Tribe - OSPI

“I would like to acknowledge the indigenous people who have stewarded this land since time immemorial and who still inhabit the area today, the Steh-Chass Band of Indigenous people of the Squaxin Island Tribe.”

Squaxin Island Tribal History – additional history you may wish to include in your acknowledgement and learn more about:

The Squaxin Island Tribe was created by combining seven-bands of indigenous peoples from throughout South Puget Sound. Those seven-bands were originally placed on a reservation in 1854 called Squaxin Island near Thurston and Mason Counties.
Olympia sits on the shores of Budd Inlet. Budd Inlet was known as Steh-Chass, titled after the band of People who lived there since time immemorial.
The Steh-Chass People are one of the seven bands who make up the Squaxin Island Tribe.