FUNDED BY
National Science Foundation, Rhode
Island College
East Bay Educational Collaborative, Ten
Partnering Districts
PARTNERING DISTRICTS
Bristol-Warren, Coventry, East Providence, Johnston, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth,
Providence, Tiverton
WHO WE ARE
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Dr. MacGregor Kniseley, Rhode Island College, Professor, Elementary
Education
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Jeff Soares, Rhode Island College
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM
Ron DeFronzo, Science Specialist, East
Bay Educational Collaborative
Dr. Richard Green, Professor of
Elementary Education, Rhode Island College
Anita Hennessy, Operations Manager,
Rhode Island Science Materials Resource Center East Bay Educational
collaborative
Jerry Kowalczyk, Executive Director,
East Bay Educational Collaborative
Maria DeFreece
Lawrence, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education, Rhode Island College
Dr. James Magyar, Professor of
Chemistry, Rhode Island College
Jeff Soares, Project Coordinator, HELMSS
Project
PROJECT EVALUATOR
Sabra Lee, Senior Research Associate,
Lesley University, Program Evaluation and Research Group
BACKGROUND
HELMSS
builds upon the tremendous success of Kits In Teaching Elementary Science
(KITES). Since1995 more than 600 East
Bay teachers from 8 districts and 48 schools, serving 13,000 students each
year, benefited greatly from the new services and resources. With a link to
teacher preparation programs, more than 1,500 elementary pre-service teachers
experienced science pedagogy and NSF-supported instructional materials used
by K-6 teachers. The infrastructure established through KITES supports 12 other
Rhode Island districts and two in southeastern Massachusetts. Coventry,
Providence, and Johnston have joined seven East Bay districts for the first
phases of the HELMSS initiative. HELMSS is actively recruiting other
districts to join the next phase a comprehensive systemic change initiative.
NON
PARTNERING DISTRICTS
Districts
who wish to participate in the HELMSS Project but are not partners are
encouraged to become involved as “adjunct members” of the initiative. These
districts can participate in training, purchasing of instructional materials
and refurbishing modules. These districts are expected to incur the costs of
instructional materials and professional development of teachers and
administrators.
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TEACHER LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Teams of
middle teachers of science from each partnering middle school are invited to
participate in a two-year program. As a result of the leadership program,
teams of teachers will
-
extend knowledge of science content,
technology, pedagogy, curriculum, standards, and assessment through 3 courses
and seminar
-
develop
a supportive learning community in middle schools, district, and region.
-
Assist in building capacity of school,
district, and region’s capacity for improved middle school science programs
-
collaborate
in creating professional development for teachers who will participate in a
comprehensive middle school science reform initiative.
Benefits to participating teachers include:
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Professional Development 
