Learn and Serve America Washington Grant

Learn and Serve Learn and Serve America Washington

Here is the application that won the grant. Click here to read the mini-grant app for years 4 through 6. And click here for the additional 2006-07 grants!

Chimacum Middle School resides in one of Washington states’ largest fisheries habitats. Years of over-fishing, poor land-use practices, and unchecked development have caused massive declines in local fish populations causing several local fish species to be listed as endangered or threatened. On August 02, 1999, the chum salmon was designated as threatened in Washington State and the U.S. by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has submitted Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMP) for Chimacum Creek. The Federal Register, Volume 66, Number 64, April 3, 2003, described the reintroduction of summer chum salmon into Chimacum Creek. Reintroducing summer chum into Chimacum Creek is important because the native population of summer chum has been extirpated from our watershed and this effort is also part of the Hood Canal/Strait of Juan de Fuca Chum Salmon Conservation Plan. Chimacum Middle School students are providing a source of help to insure the safety of the returning chum each year.

Sixth grade Chimacum Middle School students, working in conjunction with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC), will use handheld computers (PDA’s), electronic data collection probes, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices along with traditional and cutting edge field biology collection methods to gather data to monitor the status of Chimacum Creek. NOSC is currently involved in restoration efforts on Chimacum Creek. A section of the Chimacum Creek runs right through the Chimacum Schools campus. Chimacum Middle School students have been aiding NOSC in their restoration efforts on the creek in and by the school, which has been helping determine if the nearby farms are polluting the creek. The 6th grade middle school science teacher attended a class with NOSC to learn how to use the Benthic Index of Biological Integrity (B-IBI) macroinvertebrate method of determining creek health; a relatively new method of measuring the health of a running body of water, and last year students successfully collected samples that were sent to a lab. Our portion of the creek scored a very low 16 out of a possible 50 points showing that our creek has low biological integrity. NOSC has begun planning how to deal with the pollution and our students will be directly involved with all the restoration efforts.

In the first two years of the project, Chimacum Middle School has begun to develop a model that we will spread to other local school districts in the region in years three, four and five. Year two was the year when NOSC became most involved and when we began using the BIBI. Chimacum Middle School students will instruct peers in other school districts to collect and record data the way they have learned. Chimacum Middle School staff, in cooperation with NOSC, will assist new teachers to implement the project in their schools. Chimacum Middle School students will create tutorial movies to be burned on DVD’s for teachers and students in nearby schools. Chimacum Middle School students will also create websites that students in other schools will use to record their data through an interactive database. Chimacum Middle School students have been doing hands-on science, helping to solve real-world problems, and communicating their knowledge to other students and teachers.

The EALR’s directly met by this project include Science 1, the student understands and uses scientific concepts and principles, specifically
1.1 use properties to identify, describe, and categorize substances, materials, and objects, and use characteristics to categorize living things, and
1.2 recognize the components, structure, and organization of systems and the interconnections within and among them.

Science 2, the student knows and applies the skills and processes of science and technology, specifically
2.1 develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, and
2.2 apply science knowledge and skills to solve problems or meet challenges.

Science 3, the student understands the nature and contexts of science and technology, specifically
3.1 understand the nature of scientific inquiry, and
3.2 know that science and technology are human endeavors, interrelated to each other, to society, and to the workplace.

Students will also meet many of the reading and writing EALR’s as they research fresh water resources and water quality as well as when they write their lab reports and create the website for other students. Presenting their work-in-progress to other students for peer review also requires excellent communication skills, which students will be taught.
By working directly with NOSC and providing a service to their community, Chimacum students will tie the state’s learning goals 3 and 4 with 1 and 2. Chimacum students will be conducting actual field science with actual field scientists and the data Chimacum students collect will determine the steps taken to restore our creek to a pristine state. The restoration project will take years and students will be able to follow the progress as they enter high school because our middle school and high school are on the same campus.

The North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC) is the agency that has been responsible for restoration work in the Chimacum area and the care and maintenance of the salmon in our region. When Chimacum Middle School began studying water quality and began to work on our creek I contacted NOSC to see if we could help their efforts. Since then, NOSC has been training our teachers and students so that our students can do the work required to restore our section of the creek. Our teachers and students are trained by NOSC representatives on collecting samples for the BIBI, on water quality testing, and on trapping fish for counting. In the works there is also a plan to reopen our campus hatchery to grow trout for our nearby Anderson Lake. Our students will replenish the fish from recreational fishing.

The Washington State Unified Plan’s priority area includes having to, “design projects to incorporate an intergenerational approach in the delivery of national service activities,” and “promote and expand the ethic of service among all age groups.” which fits our water quality project because this project is conducted by 6th grade students working with the adults of NOSC. The program needs to, “incorporate the concept of Service Learning in all projects,” and to “provide service to people who have urgent needs and/or to those who are underserved by existing programs,” which this project attains. Years of cutting down trees and vegetation to build farms and homes has hurt Chimacum Creek. Returning salmon counts have declined for years before NOSC began its restoration efforts. NOSC does not have the manpower to do all the work that needs to be done to help the fishing industry by maintaining high salmon counts. With Chimacum Middle School students’ help, NOSC can find out if nearby farms are polluting the creek and what to do next to make the creek more accessible to returning salmon. It is my belief that this water quality project meets another priority area, “preserve the qualities and best traditions of service, which exist in many communities and cultures across the state,” by virtue of its service to the community. Under public awareness, our project should, “promote the concept of “Service as a Solution” and those who serve as stable resources when coupled with programs who are addressing community needs.” Sixth graders are very interested in helping and serving their community. Providing a valid service to their community is something that students never forget and it motivates students to learn. Our creek is polluted and salmon counts declined drastically until NOSC began its restoration efforts. Now our students can help in those efforts. For the goals that include the Corporation for National Service (CNS), it our goal to learn of CNS in our area and to bring other schools on board to help restore other bodies of fresh water.

New 2006-07 Grant Proposal (that got us another $4,000/yr!):

Description of Activities:
Then describe activities that will focus on one or more compelling needs. Include the number of students you expect to engage during the year.

Sixth grade Chimacum Middle School students are working in conjunction with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC) to gather data to monitor the overall health of Chimacum Creek. This project has been funded through a Learn & Serve America grant for the 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006 school years. NOSC is currently involved in restoration efforts on Chimacum Creek. A section of the Chimacum Creek runs right through the Chimacum Schools campus. Chimacum Middle School students have been aiding NOSC in their restoration efforts on the creek in and by the school, which has been helping determine if the nearby farms are polluting the creek. Chimacum Middle School 6th graders work with NOSC to collect samples of benthic macroinvertebrates each year in October to send to a lab. The lab returns a Benthic Index of Biological Integrity (B-IBI) score out of a possible 50 points where 50 represents a pristine, healthy stream. Chimacum Creek has been scoring at the low end of the scale showing low biological integrity and NOSC has been planning how to deal with the issues leading to the low scores. Our students have been directly involved with the restoration efforts in the area near our campus.

The North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC, http://www.nosc.org/) is the agency that has been responsible for restoration work in the Chimacum area and the care and maintenance of the salmon in our region. When Chimacum Middle School began studying water quality and began to work on our creek I contacted NOSC to see if we could help their efforts. Since then, NOSC has been training our teachers and students so that our students can do the work required to restore our section of the creek. Our teachers and students are trained by NOSC representatives on collecting samples for the B-IBI, on water quality testing, on planting native vegetation along the creek, and on trapping fish for counting. In the works there is also a plan to reopen our campus hatchery to grow trout for our nearby Anderson Lake. Our students will replenish the fish lost to recreational fishing.
Chimacum Middle School resides in one of Washington states’ largest fisheries habitats. Years of over-fishing, poor land-use practices, and unchecked development have caused massive declines in local fish populations causing several local fish species to be listed as endangered or threatened. On August 02, 1999, the chum salmon was designated as threatened in Washington State and the U.S. by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) submitted Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMP) for Chimacum Creek. The Federal Register, Volume 66, Number 64, April 3, 2003, described the reintroduction of summer chum salmon into Chimacum Creek. Reintroducing summer chum into Chimacum Creek is important because the native population of summer chum has been extirpated from our watershed and this effort is also part of the Hood Canal/Strait of Juan de Fuca Chum Salmon Conservation Plan. Chimacum Middle School students are providing a source of help to insure the safety of the returning chum each year.

Two years ago I was approached by the Hood Canal Watershed People who have schools doing water quality work around the Hood Canal. The Hood Canal is in danger and there are many areas in the canal where the dissolved oxygen is dangerously low, killing the fish. Because Chimacum Middle School 6th graders were reaching out to other schools doing water quality, we were asked to help monitor and test the water quality on several sites along the east and west sides of the Hood Canal. We did and were invited to participate in the first annual Hood Canal Youth Summit in 2005 where the schools testing sites along the Hood Canal met to share their data, their results, and their ideas for saving the Hood Canal watershed. Chimacum 6th graders participated in the 2006 Hood Canal Youth Summit and now have been collecting water quality data on the Hood Canal sites for two years and we have been collecting water quality data on our own Chimacum Creek for four years. Our data can be found online by visiting our water quality website at http://educatoral.com/chimacum_creek/cms_water_quality.html. For the 2006-2007 school year we have a little over 80 6th graders who will participate in this project and continue providing a service to Chimacum Creek watershed and to the Hood Canal watershed as well.

Focus:
The primary focus of the Learn and Serve grant is the integration of service-learning and the culminating project. Describe how service-learning will be integrated into curriculum and culminating projects.

Chimacum Creek’s water quality/restoration has been an integral part of the 6th grade science program since its inception in the 2000-2001 school year. Water quality has been the major component of the fresh water resources science curriculum in the 6th grade. In the 2002-2003 school year the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC) came on board to help teach and train the 6th graders on the applications of fresh water resources to our region and our creek in particular. It has been and will continue to be taught every year to the 6th grade at Chimacum Middle School. This project starts in the fall when NOSC begins to teach 6th graders about Chimacum Creek, its history, and how the chum salmon has been affected. Then 6th graders get to take part in the benthic macroinvertebrate sampling that gets sent to a lab by mid-October. In December 6th graders will help plant trees along sections of the creek that need native vegetation. By March students will begin learning how to use the water chemistry kits and testing the creek water as well as sites of the Hood Canal. Students research water chemistry and water quality and fresh water resources to determine the overall health of the waters they test. All this culminates in the creation of movies burned onto DVD’s and CD’s and websites to share with other students in other schools who are also studying water quality. By late May or early June Chimacum 6th graders participate in an annual Hood Canal Youth Summit to share their movies, websites, and their conclusions.

As an integral part of Chimacum Middle School's 6th grade science curriculum, this water quality service learning project addresses the following Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALR's) and Grade Level Expectations (GLE's):
In Science -
EALR 1 — Systems: The student knows and applies scientific concepts and principles to understand the properties, structures, and changes in physical, earth/space, and living systems.
Component 1.1 Properties: Understand how properties are used to identify, describe, and categorize substances, materials, and objects and how characteristics are used to categorize living things.
GLE 1.1.5 Describe how Earth’s water (i.e., oceans, fresh waters, glaciers, ground water) can have different properties (e.g., salinity, density).
GLE 1.2.1 Analyze how the parts of a system interconnect and influence each other. Explain how the parts of a system interconnect and influence each other.
EALR 2 – Inquiry: The student knows and applies the skills, processes, and nature of scientific inquiry
GLE 2.1.1 Understand how to generate a question that can be answered through scientific investigation.
GLE 2.1.2 Understand how to plan and conduct scientific investigations.
GLE 2.1.3 Understand how to plan and conduct scientific investigations.
GLE 2.1.5 Apply understanding of how to report investigations and explanations of objects, events, systems, and processes.
GLE 2.2.2 Understand that observations and measurement are used by scientists to describe the world.
GLE 2.2.3 Analyze inconsistent results from scientific investigations to determine how the results can be explained.
EALR 3 – Application: The student knows and applies science concepts and skills to develop solutions to human problems in societal contexts.
Component 3.1 Designing Solutions: Apply knowledge and skills of science and technology to design solutions to human problems or meet challenges.
GLE 3.1.1 Analyze common problems or challenges in which scientific design can be or has been used to design solutions.
GLE 3.1.2 Apply the scientific design process to develop and implement solutions to problems or challenges.
GLE 3.2.2 Analyze scientific inquiry and scientific design and understand how science supports technological development and vice versa.
GLE 3.2.4 Analyze how human societies’ use of natural resources affects the quality of life and the health of ecosystems.
Of the Reading standards, this project covers the following when students research fresh water ecosystems and resources and water chemistry:
EALR 1: The student understands and uses different skills and strategies to read.
EALR 2: The student understands the meaning of what is read.
EALR 3: The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes.
Of the Writing standards, this project covers the following as students write up their labs and create their websites and movies:
EALR 1: The student understands and uses a writing process.
EALR 2: The student writes in a variety of forms for different audiences and purposes.
EALR 3: The student writes clearly and effectively.
EALR 4: The student analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of written work.

Diversity: Describe how your program will provide opportunities for participants and volunteers to serve together with people of different backgrounds (such as race, religion, socioeconomic status, age, and physical/mental ability).

Chimacum, Washington is a small, rural community on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula. The Chimacum School District covers a large area yet is a small school district. Chimacum Middle School has approximately 265 students with a little over 80 of those students in the 6th grade. This water quality service learning project will include all of the school’s 6th graders. Chimacum Middle School has low diversity in terms of race and religion. All our 6th graders are from 11 to 12 years old. Where there is diversity in our 6th grade is in the area of socioeconomic status and physical/mental ability. This project includes and expects the same of all our students regardless of their socioeconomic status or their physical/mental ability. This project has students out on the field planting trees, conducting water quality tests, and collecting bug samples, which makes it a wonderful project for all students. All 6th graders get to shine, participate, and help their community through this project. Students will also get to work with NOSC stewards and interns, parent volunteers, their 6th grade teachers, and Americorps volunteers from all walks of life.

Strengthening Communities
In the space below, please describe your community involvement plans including the following items:
Sustainability: Describe how your program will work to institutionalize service-learning.
Adult Volunteers: Describe how you will generate additional adult volunteers to help support or coordinate efforts. Estimate the number of volunteers you expect to recruit in year one.

There are four teachers in Chimacum Middle School who teach 6th grade. Al Gonzalez teaches 6th grade science providing this service learning opportunity to all 6th graders. As each class participates in tree planting and water quality testing, the homeroom 6th grade teacher will join the students and help them carry out their service. When we work with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC) the restoration steward who works with our students recruits Americorps volunteers and interns to help students plant trees. When we test the different sites of the Hood Canal we usually have parents volunteer to help students. Finally, when we attend the Hood Canal Youth Summit there are many adult volunteers who help put together the summit and help students learn and share their data. In the 2006-2007 school year we expect to have approximately 18 to 20 adult volunteers help out at different parts of this project.

Organizational Capacity
In the space below, please address the following issues:
* Qualifications and roles of key staff people responsible for program

Al Gonzalez has been responsible for Chimacum Middle School’s water quality project since he started the program back in the 2000-2001 school year, and Al Gonzalez has been solely responsible for managing the three year Learn & Serve America grant from the 2003-2004 school year until the 2005-2006 school year. Al Gonzalez wrote the grant application and proposal and managed the budget and did all the purchasing for the entire three years of the grant. Al Gonzalez has the experience to continue running Chimacum’s water quality project and he knows exactly what his students need to provide the service they have been providing for years. Al Gonzalez has been working with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC) since they first came on board to include Chimacum students in their restoration efforts on Chimacum Creek. Because of the work Chimacum's 6th graders have been doing, Al's students were invited to help test and monitor sites along the Hood Canal. That is how Chimacum Middle School, a school not in the Hood Canal watershed, has been participating in the annual Hood Canal Youth Summit. Al Gonzalez is also highly qualified to create and work with the 6th grade science curriculum; he has a Masters in Teaching, he is a nationally certified teacher, and he has been attending science trainings through the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership (NCOSP) since the 2004-2005 school year. The 2006-2007 school year will be Al Gonzalez’s 16th year teaching grades 4 through 8 and this water quality service learning project has been the highlight of his career.