[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12321-12322]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     SCIENCE EDUCATION IN DELAWARE

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I spoke about Senator Byrd yesterday. One 
of the ways you measure anyone is by their friends. The manner in which 
Senator Harkin just spoke about Senator Byrd shows what a great man 
Senator Byrd was, to have a friend as thoughtful and as caring as 
Senator Harkin. They are both a credit to the Senate.
  As we continue another school year, I wanted to take an opportunity 
to commend the excellent science instruction taking place in my State 
of Delaware. The science educators and leaders in the State have been 
working for 15 years to create a world-class science program 
encompassing standards and curriculum, professional development, and 
science material kits. I am honored to say that I believe world class 
is exactly the way to describe the science instruction Delaware 
students receive.
  This is not something that happened overnight. It is a process that 
began in 1995, when a statewide survey was sent out to gather data on 
the status of science teaching and learning in Delaware. The results, 
unfortunately, showed that not much science was taught or being learned 
in Delaware schools. Consequently, several school districts banded 
together to form the Delaware Science Coalition. The coalition received 
extraordinary support from the DuPont Company in the form of time, 
money, and volunteer services. The group wrote and received a National 
Science Foundation grant, which allowed the districts to have an out-
of-classroom science specialist provide science professional 
development for all teachers, assemble science materials, develop 
assessments, and meet as a group. Within 3 years, all school districts 
except one had joined the Delaware Science Coalition.
  Today, the science coalition has come a long way. They have a 
statewide kindergarten through grade 11 science curriculum in place and 
have plans for a grade 12 curriculum. They have professional 
development for all science teachers in grades K through 11. They have 
cost-effective, kit-based science materials. They have assessments that 
are modeled after international science tests. They also have a 
systematic and comprehensive approach to reform that includes 
leadership from the State, district, and classroom, as well as 
corporate, community, and university-based partners.
  Beyond all these coordinated measures, perhaps the most impressive 
example of how far the coalition has come is seen in the warehouse at 
the John W. Collette Education Resource Center in Dover. It is truly 
impressive. To get an idea of what it looks like, you have to think 
about what it is like to be inside a Home Depot or a Lowes--a warehouse 
with rows and rows of supplies and forklifts running about. This is 
what the science materials center looks like at the Collette Center, 
except the industrial shelving and forklifts are transporting boxes 
filled with science materials to use in classrooms across the State. 
Science curricula and materials kits for grades K through 8 include 
resources developed by the National Science Resource Center, University 
of California-Berkeley, and homegrown and hybrid units developed with 
the aid of Delaware's very own teachers. These units are coordinated to 
introduce life, physical, and Earth science concepts each year and 
gradually increase in complexity from one level to the next.
  All districts share materials, and kits rotate through two or three 
teachers per year. In order to obtain the materials, a teacher must 
attend professional development coordinated by the Collette Center. 
Then the warehouse sends out the kit, teachers and students use it, it 
is picked up weeks later, it is refurbished, and then sent out to 
another teacher. By sharing materials, costs are kept to an absolute 
minimum.
  The Collette Center is a remarkable resource for the teachers and 
students in Delaware. It is unique in that it is the only science 
program in the country that provides a curriculum aligned to standards, 
an intensive professional development effort, and a materials support 
service for public school districts and charter schools throughout the 
entire State. To create this all-encompassing system, the Science 
Coalition has at times worked closely with the National Science 
Resource Center or NSRC. The NSRC is a joint operation of the 
Smithsonian Institution and the National Academies. I think Sally Goetz 
Shuler, the executive director of the NSRC, summed up Delaware's 
accomplishments best when she said:

       During the past decade, the NSRC has showcased Delaware as 
     a model to dozens of other U.S. States, countries, and 
     national organizations, including the National Governors 
     Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and 
     the James B. Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and 
     Policy. Hundreds of leaders have visited the John W. Collette 
     Education Resource Center in Dover, as well as many of 
     [Delaware's] classrooms. While small, your State has been

[[Page 12322]]

     and will continue to be instrumental in catalyzing other 
     states and countries to transform their science programs.

  That is from Sally Goetz Shuler, the executive director of the NSRC. 
That is a powerful statement, and one with which I wholeheartedly 
agree.
  By the way, my colleague, Senator Carper, who has just come on the 
floor, has also visited the Collette Resource Center in Dover.
  Delaware's science program is very impressive and the work is paying 
off for Delaware's students. When the new science standards and 
assessments were first implemented in 2001, only 42 percent of eighth 
grade students met or exceeded the standards. By 2009, 60 percent of 
the eighth graders met or exceeded the standards. Similar achievement 
gains have been illustrated at the fourth, sixth, and eleventh grades 
as well. This is an incredible achievement and I am confident 
Delaware's science teachers and leaders will continue to build on this 
accomplishment.
  Congratulations to Delaware for continuing to lead the way in science 
education.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor to the Senator from California.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.

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