Teaching Opportunities for Partners in Science (TOPS) was conceived
to bring retired scientists into elementary rural schools. The California
Postsecondary Education Commission(CPEC) awarded a grant to Columbia
College in Columbia, California, and the San Joaquin County Office of
Education in Stockton, California to test the concept of TOPS during
the 1993-94 year.
TOPS started as a pilot program with four Science Partners, each assigned
to a rural school in the three California Counties of Tuolumne, Calaveras
and San Joaquin. The goals of the pilot program were to:
(a) determine the feasibility of placing retired scientists in the schools,
(b) explore the different roles scientists could play in the schools,
and
(c) determine the preparation needed by the school and the Science
Partner to make the program a success.
The pilot program proved that retired scientists and engineers were
a great asset to a school's science education program. Further, the
pilot program also provided TOPS with the necessary knowledge to develop
a training and recruiting program in order to expand the number of schools
that could be served.
The California Postsecondary Education Commission(CPEC) then awarded
a three year grant to Columbia College and San Joaquin County Office
of Education to expand and continue to test the concept of TOPS.
During the 1994-5 year, TOPS held a Summer Institute at Columbia College
to train 25 retired scientists and engineers to become Science Partners.
These Science Partners were subsequently assigned to 25 elementary schools
in the San Joaquin, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. During the year
(1994-1995), the different roles the Science Partners could perform
were more clearly defined. TOPS sponsored several support meetings to
help the Science Partners share their experiences and develop an esprit
de corps.
During the 1995-6 year, the program was enlarged to cover 27 schools.
New Science Partners were recruited to replace those lost by attrition
and a Summer Institute was especially conducted to train them. The Summer
Institute also provided the veteran Science Partners with new training
and with opportunities to share their experiences, including lessons
they had developed and presented with each other and with the new Science
Partners. The veteran Science Partners were also asked to help the new
scientists by relating how they had successfully worked in elementary
schools.
A 1996 evaluation, that is still continuing, of TOPS was started. This
evaluation included the input of the Science Partners, interviews with
the Lead Teachers, and a report by an outside evaluator appointed by
CPEC. Results of the initial evaluations showed that TOPS has become
a valuable program to the schools, and has helped the science literacy
of both teachers and students. In addition, there have been numerous
benefits for the Science Partners that include enhanced interest in
science education, finding new applications for their science knowledge,
and the development of a network of their peers after retirement.
Conducting training sessions for the Lead Teachers at the TOPS school
was an improvement brought about by the evaluations. In addition, it
was found that both new and veteran Partners benefited by attending
these sessions as well. By the time the grant had been completed, TOPS
had proved to be a great success for its benefits to the students, teachers
and schools and also to the Science Partners (see Benefits section above).
TOPS is now a paragraph in an ongoing story that is growing to include
other schools in large and small school districts, both public and private,
rural and urban.
After being supported by grants from the California Postsecondary Education
Commission(CPEC), TOPS started to offer its services for a fee. The
majority of schools that had been served by TOPS chose to continue with
the program. In addition, schools new to the program, decided to join
the TOPS program by paying for the service.
TOPS continues to be a viable program serving between 25 to 40 schools
each year. At the same time, efforts are being made to disseminate TOPS
to other school districts and to strengthen the training and support
activities for both the Science Partners and the Lead Teachers. As detailed
below in section VII, a number of promotional and recruiting instruments
have been developed, this include a video, a web page, a guidebook and
a number of flyers.
The Guidebook provides a comprehensive description of TOPS and all
the necessary applications and guidelines to start new TOPS partnerships
in other school districts.
Since 1999, More schools are being served by forming separate partnerships
with University of the Pacific (UOP) and the Livermore Valley Joint
Unified School District (LVJUSD).
The Delta Sierra Science Project sponsored by SJCOE and UOP was formed
to promote standards-based instruction for K-12 teachers. A number of
the elementary schools became TOPS schools and are being served by Science
Partners who also help during the summer institute.
In Livermore, the LVJUSD School District has endorsed TOPS and incorporated
the program by starting with four schools during the 2000-01 school
year and ten schools during the coming 2002-03 school year. The Livermore
program has been supported by grants from the Rotarian and the Livermore
Valley Education Foundations and some funds from LVJUSD.
In 2002-03 school year, as the number of schools in Livermore is expected
to increase, it was decided to restructure the administration. SJCOE
will remain as the major center and Livermore becoming a regional center
with its own Coordinator and with responsibility to carry out local
major training activities (see Section V).
The California Postsecondary Education Commission(CPEC) is to be commended
for its foresight and vision in helping the fledging idea of scientists
helping schools, students and teachers become a reality. This partnership
between CPEC and TOPS includes special mention of TOPS as an exemplary
program in the CPEC sponsored Developing Teaching Professionals;
The California Eisenhower State Grant Program Experience, 1992-1996
Success of TOPS program has been highlighted in numerous laudatory
newspaper articles, testimonies from participant scientists, presentations
at conferences, article about TOPS in the Science Education Academy
of the Bay Area Journal (SEABA; Fall, 1996) and articles in
the national Journal of Staff Development (October 1997)
and the California Science Teachers Journal (Summer, 1998),
and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA 1998
report).
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