PISCES (active program from 1999-2007)

The Partnerships Involving the Scientific Community in Elementary Schools (PISCES) Project has served over 200 teachers in over 40 schools throughout San Diego County, the North Slope of Alaska, and Baja California Sur, Mexico.  The innovative PISCES Program was active from 1999-2007.  Since that time elements of the program have been adapted by SDSA into the STEM Professionals with Class program. 

Teachers are partnered with "Science Corps", university graduate and undergraduate science majors, to plan and implement a standards-based science unit using hands-on, inquiry-based instructional materials. These long-term teaching relationships encourage lasting change in K-6 teachers' attitudes about science, as well as their content knowledge. In San Diego County alone, PISCES has served over 150 classrooms. This classroom intervention, along with additional professional development institutes, have resulted in more than 10,980 hours of support using more than 40 different hands-on science curriculum kits and a resource library of over 500 books and videos.

PISCES Project Supporters

National Science Foundation

Biogen Idec || Boston Scientific || Girard Foundation || Hewlett Packard Foundation || Qualcomm Incorporated || San Diego Science Alliance || Sprint || The Legoland Foundation || Richard D. Winter Jr. Matching Gift || A generous gift from the Edgar Hardy Family || The San Diego Foundation's Reuben H. Fleet Discretionary Fund & Colonel Frank C. Wood Memorial Fund || Todd and Mari Gutschow Family Foundation || Anne Prause Blue || Proxima || Marilyn and Martin Colby