ACADEMIC RIGOR

BSF Supported Programs 2010-2011

Knowledge in Action, Project-based Learning Approach to High School Advanced Placement Courses               

The George Lucas Educational Foundation funded project is redesigning AP curriculum to provide deeper learning for high school students.  Bellevue teachers are collaborating with researchers from the University of Washington to develop rigorous project work and measure student learning. In the first two years of the project, students taking the project-based  AP U.S. Government & Politics performed significantly better on the National AP exam and showed measurable deep understanding of political processes and public policy issues.  This year, the program expands to project-based AP Environmental Science.

BSF Supported Programs 2009-2010

The Power of Curriculum, Technology, and Brain Research to Transform Students Achievement                           

The Gates Foundation funded multi-year program helped develop curriculum in core academic areas to provide students with a superior college-preparatory education. Work includes development of integrated elementary- and secondary-level:

• language arts
• mathematics
• science
• social studies
• world languages.

Knowledge in Action, Project-based Learning Approach to High School Advanced Placement Courses            

Differentiated Learning Initiative                                    

BSF supports Superintendent Dr. Amalia Cudeiro effort to develop a vigorous learning environment in every school. Differentiated instruction challenges high performing students, helps struggling students meet academic standards, and engages students at every level to realize their full potential. The Differentiated Learning Initiative is a three-year project modeled after successful programs implemented in other school districts in the U.S. and Canada. These programs resulted in significant increases in student achievement school-wide and district-wide.

Music Grants                                                                 

BSF provided grants for K-12 music programs throughout the schools in the Bellevue School District to provide:

• master classes
• instrument repair or purchase
• other music support

BSF Supported Programs 2008-2009 

• Emphasis on understanding concepts, computational    fluency, problem solving
      skills, and a developed ability to recall “math facts”
• Proficiency in math topics that are the foundation for algebra, including whole
      numbers, fractions, aspects of geometry and measurement
• Instruction that allows gifted students to accelerate and helps struggling students
      with explicit instruction, clear models for solving problems, opportunities for
      extensive practice, and specific feedback 

Today’s Science                                                                

Provided 5,800 students in grades 6 – 10 with comprehensive physics-biology-chemistry coursework based upon the latest scientific and learning research and college preparatory expectations.

• Students improve their writing and mathematics skills to develop a deeper
      engagement with class work and mastery in science subjects
• Teachers received professional development from experts in science education

 

Today’s Science provides middle school students with a science foundation that prepares them to take high school-level physics in Grade 8 and complete Physics-Biology-Chemistry college preparatory science by grade 10. High school students can choose from a selection of Advanced Placement science courses in grades 11 and 12. BSF supports development of new units and refining others to give students hands-on learning experiences to reinforce science concepts. Outside expert review from three universities and the Institute of Systems Biology along with student assessment data are being used to update courses. 

Today's Science has resulted in a marked increase in the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement science classes and other high-level science courses.

Writing Skills                                                                      

Provided 9,300 middle and high school students with critical thinking and writing skills they need to succeed in college and the workplace by:

• Learning non-fiction writing skills, such as how to craft a well-reasoned argument
      to support a position or opinion.
• Providing new tools for students to develop college-level writing proficiency
      including fully-annotated anchor papers and writing assessment guides to evaluate
      idea presentation, organization, and language.

This three-year writing program has resulted in closing the achievement gap in writing, as measured by the 10th grade Washington State Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) and advancing students to higher-level writing competency needed for college and other post-secondary opportunities.

AP+ Project Based Learning                                              

The George Lucas Educational Foundation, through BSF, is funding a multi-year pilot project to better teach advanced course work so it engages students and provides them with deeper understanding on course content. Project based learning affords the ability to order experiential conditions in ways that profoundly help students bridge their prior, local, and informal knowledge on the one hand, with academic, vetted, formal knowledge on the other—and to learn about themselves and others as learners in the process. It affords students clear opportunities to continually try out their current levels of understanding and ultimately deepen them.