Portola Valley K- 5 Science Pilot 2021-2022

Portola Valley School District’s Elementary (K-5) Science Pilot and Adoption process has moved into the piloting phase for the 2021-22 school year. The intent of the Science Pilot committee is to present a recommendation for adoption to the Board of Trustees in the Spring of 2022.

Members of the Science pilot committee include the following:
• One (1) Teacher from each grade level Kindergarten through Grade 5 (K-5)
• One (1) K-5 Administrator Representative
• One (1) K-5 Special Education Representative
• One (1) Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA: Facilitator)

In Fall of 2021, the Science pilot committee completed the exploration phase and prescreened all 11 approved science curricula using the California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Toolkit for Instructional Material Evaluation (TIME). All K-5 teachers provide input to the committee on desired essential elements.

During the prescreening process, four curricula were chosen to review during the paper screening phase. The committee then voted on the two curricula that to be piloted during the 2021-22 school year: National Geographic Learning Exploring Science (Cengage) and Twig Science (Twig Education) {TK-5}.

Both National Geographic and Twig Science have provided PVSD with demonstration accounts for parents and community members to review:

1. National Geographic Learning Exploring Science Demo Account

          • If you would like to log in as a teacher:
            Log in: [email protected] Password: Password

          • If you would like to log in as a student:
           Log in: [email protected] Password: Password

2. Twig Science demo account

           District ID: TRIAL1527
           Username: teacher01
           Password: angel19

Students will be using hard copies together with additional digital content to enhance learning during the pilot. Students will use textbooks and digital content during the following school year after the adoption by the PVSD Board of Trustees.

Hard copies of the curricula will be available to the public for review from May 9 - May 13, 2022 in the District Annex. More detailed information will follow on this page.

Please complete this form with any comments or feedback you may have.

If you have any additional questions or comments, please contact Teresa Richard or Minoo Shah.