Author: myralopez

Growing Stronger Together: An Improvement Science Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

For the past 30 years, the Institute for School Partnership (ISP), an academic center at Washington University in St. Louis, has worked regionally with schools and community organizations to empower educators and improve educational outcomes for all students. The ISP offers a variety of programs that serve approximately 189,000 students and 3,850 teachers from 56 school districts and 64 independent schools annually. […]

Expertise of Washington University faculty, staff, tapped by Ritenour School District to co-develop science courses

A two-year collaboration between teachers at the Ritenour School District and faculty and staff from Washington University in St. Louis culminates this year with four completely new high school science courses.  Instructional specialists with WashU’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP) and Michael Wysession, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and an expert on the Next […]

ISP helps teachers bring university research to life in classrooms

It’s mid-July and in a fourth-floor lab at Washington University in St. Louis, Brittany Daugs, sporting goggles and a mask, is carefully cutting silicon pieces into squares and laying them out on glass gel plates. “I am preparing silicon-coated substrates that will become electro-deposited with bismuth selenide,” she explains. “We will then investigate the growth, […]

ISP’s Nikki Doughty talks educational challenges, opportunities in podcast

In a two-part podcast, ISP Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives Nikki Doughty spoke with Terrell Carter, the President and Executive Director of Rise, for the podcast series entitled Communities Forward. They discussed the challenges and opportunities related to education in the St. Louis region. In particular, Doughty touched on the ISP’s work to develop stronger […]

Local partnerships re-envision math instruction

Successful completion of algebra 1 is the gatekeeper to higher-level math and is required for virtually any education beyond high school. That makes math education an equity issue. A  2019 article in the Journal for Research and Mathematics Education states, “It’s well documented that Black and Hispanic students are underrepresented in eighth-grade algebra courses. As […]

Partnership lays foundation for continuous improvement in SLPS STEM

Last summer, four organizations came together to launch a new program in 17 St. Louis Public elementary schools. The Institute for School Partnership (ISP), The Little Bit Foundation (TLBF), and St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), with funding from the Bayer Fund, developed a pilot program to increase capacity for STEM teaching and learning in SLPS. […]

ISP partnership brings agriculture into Missouri classrooms

How do plants grow? Where does food come from? Who grows your food? Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Missouri. The state is home to 95,000 farms, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, covering two-thirds of the state’s total land acreage, with the top commodities being soybeans, corn, cattle, hogs, and turkeys. But despite […]

Partnering with PBS: ISP and Nine Network Work Together to Educate Students Amid Pandemic

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools in March, it highlighted the widening digital divide for many families and students in the St. Louis region. Schools and families struggled to quickly pivot to remote learning – lacking reliable internet and access to computers. Public television has become a key tool to keep students engaged and […]

ISP Spotlights COVID Response Efforts at International Symposium

For 30 years, Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership has spearheaded efforts to provide high-quality STEM learning and teaching in the St. Louis region. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded across the globe, disrupting schools, the ISP worked quickly to adapt, design, and implement resources to support the continuation of teaching and learning locally.   This past […]