Bringing the Salish Sea to Tacoma’s Fifth Graders
SeaDoc Society Science Curriculum Adopted by Tacoma Public Schools
By Justin Cox on March 8, 2021
"Tacoma Public School students are taking a big step into their local ecosystem.
While the pandemic has disrupted in-person schooling nationwide, Tacoma Public Schools is piloting a new Explore the Salish Sea science curriculum district-wide that adventurous fifth grade teachers at two Tacoma schools implemented last year.
Explore the Salish Sea is an education program of the SeaDoc Society — a marine science organization based on Orcas Island and a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis. The curriculum is built on the book of the same name, authored by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos and board member Audrey Benedict.
Mira Lutz Castle, SeaDoc Society education coordinator, developed the curriculum with input and direction by marine scientists, tribal members, and classroom teachers throughout the region. It is being implemented not only in Tacoma, but also throughout the Salish Sea, which encompasses the Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and the waters off of Vancouver, British Columbia."