Duval County Public Schools: eAgenda Manager
spacer graphic Back to Agenda Meeting Date: Tuesday, December 05, 2006
 

AGENDA - Curriculum and Instructional Services

Title:

3.  allowing upperclassmen ACCESS TO water-related Environmental studies opportunities

Requested Action:
AMEND CURRENT PROCEDURE TO ALLOW SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SPECIFIC COURSES (MARINE SCIENCE, ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, AND ZOOLOGY) TO PARTICIPATE IN EDUCATIONAL FIELD MONITORING EXPERIENCES WHICH REQUIRE LIMITED IN-WATER ACTIVITY AND WHICH FOLLOW SPECIFIC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. 

Summary Explanation and Background:

DCPS offers marine and environmental studies as elective courses to high school students, including Marine Science I and II, Marine Science I and II Honors, Advanced Placement Environmental Science, Ecology, Environmental Science, and Zoology. The opportunity to participate in educational field experiences would enhance the rigor and relevance of these courses by enabling students to learn and perform hands-on field collecting methodologies used by scientists in the environmental professions. It would allow teachers to make use of local fresh and salt water environments to bring science concepts to life for students.

 

Current Board procedure prohibits students from participating in water-related activities. This amendment covers the high school courses It shall not be construed to include water-related recreational field trips or those offered as rewards, recognitions, or incentives. The requirements outlined below must be followed by teachers implementing such field experiences. In addition, field instruction must be aligned with the Sunshine State Standards for Science.

 

Students, typically juniors and seniors, would be very closely supervised and have very limited exposure to the water. Carefully selected sites within the district would provide students the opportunity to sample organisms typical of that ecosystem and would also be very safe and “student-friendly” locations. All field experiences in a water environment would be limited to a maximum of 25 students. Students would be permitted to wade into water no deeper than knee high for the purpose of pulling small nets to collect aquatic specimens for further study on-site and/or back in the laboratory. Proper attire for field collecting such as tennis shoes and gloves would be required.

 

Terry Parker High School plans to implement a Marine Science/Environmental Studies Career Academy in 2007-08, which will coordinate with the proposed Jacksonville University Aquatic Research Institute when it is built.

 

School districts around the state and in most coastal states in the U.S. provide field experiences for students in upper level courses. Examples in Florida include the Collier County School District, where all high schools participate in the field studies program at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Jupiter High School Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy in Palm Beach County. Around the country, sites for marine studies include the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Dauphin Island, AL; Skidaway Marine Science Center in Savannah, GA; the San Diego Floating Marine Classroom in San Diego, CA; and the Floating Lab of the University of New Hampshire for grades 7-12.

New Century Commission Recommendation/OPPAGA Recommendation/Council of Great City Schools Recommendation:

R6, R27

Financial Impact (Including HR/headcount/Source of Funds):
None

For Additional Information, contact:

Amy Lingren, Acting Chief Officer, Curriculum & Instructional Services            390-2377

Ruth Senftleber, Supervisor, Science Department         390-2129

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