GRANT GIVES A.V. STUDENTS HANDS-ON SCIENCE LESSONS.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- As part of a federally funded program aimed at increasing math and science achievement, Palm Tree School fifth-grade teacher Candace Craven uses specially designed kits to give her students hands-on science lessons.

In one Halloween-theme lesson, pupils made a Frankenstein monster mask come to life by making its eyes light up. In the process they learned about how to build circuits and switches.

``Instead of kids reading books, we are doing hands-on science,'' Craven said. ``Any time you can get kids to do hands-on anything, it sticks much better.''

The kits come from the Antelope Valley Mathematics and Science Partnership, funded through the No Child Left Behind Act. The partnership consists of four elementary school districts trying to enhance the knowledge and skills of classroom teachers to help boost low student test scores.

The partnership is made up of the Eastside Union, Keppel Union, Palmdale and Wilsona school districts, with Palmdale serving as the lead agency.

It received a $876,000 grant two years ago and last month was awarded an additional $807,144 in continued funding after a midcourse performance review by the state.

``We got a renewal on our grant,'' program director Jeremy Amarant said. ``We wrote a 90-page renewal, telling them where we were at and what we could do with the additional money.''

About 150 teachers from the four districts have gone through training offered by the program, learning about graphing calculators and the math and science kits developed by the partnership.

They have met with the Mars exploration team from Arizona State University, whose members talked about science projects that instructors can do in class.

A group of science teachers went on a field trip to explore the San Andreas Fault with a geologist, who explained its many features, Amarant said.

The partnership also collaborates with educators from the Antelope Valley campus of California State University, Bakersfield, to improve the skills of math and science instructors, and provides instructional coaches who assist teachers, Amarant said.

Craven attributes double-digit increases in science test scores at her school to the program at a time when federal testing requirements have forced schools to focus heavily on reading and math.

``I attribute it to the training, frankly. We were shown ways of integrating science in. School days are so compacted and getting it in is difficult and making it accessible to the kids. The program made it easy for me,'' Craven said.

School districts are eligible to receive math and science partnership funding if at least 40 percent of their pupils qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

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