Nikki Doughty to serve as ISP associate director of strategic initiatives
The Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University in St. Louis is developing a new strategic plan to support the university’s mission to be “In St. Louis, for St. Louis.”
To that end, the institute has hired Nikki Doughty, head of school at City Academy and a regional leader in urban education, to serve as its first associate director of strategic initiatives. Doughty will support ISP’s work developing stronger educators, improving student outcomes and addressing educational inequalities. She also will lead an effort to establish Networked Improvement Communities (NIC) to create, test and scale solutions for shared challenges at schools that lack sufficient resources.
ISP partnership brings agriculture into Missouri classrooms
How do plants grow? Where does food come from? Who grows your food?
Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Missouri. The state is home to 95,000 farms, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, covering two-thirds of the state’s total land acreage, with the top commodities being soybeans, corn, cattle, hogs, and turkeys. But despite this rich agricultural tradition, there remains a disconnect for some people about where their food comes from and the role agriculture plays in their lives.
To address this “agricultural illiteracy,” the state legislature approved a bill in 2018 authorizing the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to establish a pilot program to provide agricultural education in elementary schools and to determine how to best implement a program statewide.
Not far from the crates of kazoos, stacks of Slinkies and boxes of nylon knee highs, Chris Cella, Institute for School Partnership warehouse manager, finds the owl pellets — regurgitated clumps of mouse fur, vole bones and sparrow feathers.
Cella packs the wrapped pellets into big, red boxes along with tweezers, petri dishes, paper plates, magnifying glasses, gloves, books, posters and other supplies for the mySci unit “Adapting to Change: How do living things get what they need to survive?” Cella’s team will then deliver the boxes to schools across the region, where third-graders will dissect the pellets as part of their study of ecosystems.
Amy Shaw, president and CEO of Nine PBS, shares her thoughts about partnering with the ISP
"Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership has leveraged support from STEMpact to work with Nine PBS to deliver science content to students in our region since the first season of Teaching in Room 9. From the beginning of this partnership, STEMpact and ISP understood the power of public media and how broadcast television can help bridge the digital divide. ISP has been a key partner in creating standards-aligned lessons for pre-kindergarten through 3rd-grade students and provided instructional coaching for science and math teachers. ISP’s work has ensured Teaching in Room 9 provides high-quality educational instruction to the most vulnerable kids in the St. Louis region. In 2020, Teaching in Room 9 was viewed more than 2 million times on-air and online and of those viewing: 20% live in homes with an annual income of $25,000 or less, 30% are minority, and 85% are from households with no college degree. Teaching in Room 9 viewership data suggests that Nine PBS is reaching the most vulnerable in our community and is part of our region’s answer to bridging the digital divide."
Lifelong Learners
Through WashU's University College we are offering several online summer courses for teachers. The cost per credit hour is $381. Each course is 3 credits.
PBL: Connecting STEM Learning in Interaction with the World
The Institute for School Partnership is Washington University's translational arm for educational impact. We identify best practices in teaching and learning and implement these practices in local schools, particularly those with the most vulnerable and underserved students.
Institute for School Partnership, Washington University in St. Louis, MSC 1137-154-314, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, 314-935-6846
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