The Harding University Partnership School, which since January 2010 has been partnered with UC Santa Barbara and in particular UCSB’s Gevirtz School, will bring the school’s fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students and teachers – and many parents, too – to the UC Santa Barbara campus on Tuesday, May 10 from 9 am – 12 pm. This will be the seventh annual visit for Harding to UCSB – this year’s fifth and sixth graders will have been coming to college for every year of their Harding experience. Students will take part in activities aimed specifically for their grade levels and designed to enhance the curriculum they have been studying in their Westside school.
“Although UCSB is not far away in actual miles it can seem very distant from the Harding community,” Interim Co-Dean Betsy Brenner of the Gevirtz School says. “By attending UCSB for even just a half day, it makes it seem possible they can return when they are old enough to enter as full-fledged students. This annual visit isn’t just about education, it’s about promise and hope.”
The fourth and sixth graders will work with Professors Diana Arya, Danielle Harlow, and Sue Johnson from the Gevirtz School on a project called “Light Show” creating a fantastic and whimsical light and shadow sculpture that will build knowledge of circuits, light, and story structure. For the first half of the event, fourth graders will learn about electricity and build electric circuits while sixth graders will explore light, shadow and transparent, reflective, and opaque materials. During the second half of the event, the fourth and sixth graders will come together and combine their knowledge of circuits (4th graders) and materials (6th graders) to create a collaborative light and shadow sculpture. The theme of the sculpture components will relate to literacy story structures.
The fifth graders will work with Professor Lynn Gable and Assistant Curator Sarah Kerchusky of UC Santa Barbara’s Anthropology Department on a project called “The Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections’ Anthropology Day.” The fifth graders will learn about archaeology through hands-on activities including: learning about how archaeologists gather information and learning to classify different types of artifacts; making replica artifacts including soap stone beads and salt clay cups; and, doing archaeology by learning about and having the opportunity to operate an archaeological screen, and then sort through a shell midden sample to look for artifacts.
Numerous opportunities will be available to talk to students and get wonderful footage of youth learning in action.
The historic Harding School – whose students are nearly 95% Hispanic, more than 90% economically disadvantaged, and more than 60% of its pupils are English Language Learners – has been involved in major changes over the past six years. These efforts were punctuated by the January 2010 announcement of an unprecedented partnership with UC Santa Barbara.
The Harding University Partnership School is a place of joy, excellence, and international focus. Of particular distinction for the neighborhood is the University School’s status as an International Baccalaureate Program, making it the only Santa Barbara elementary school currently pursuing this highly acclaimed approach that emphasizes 21st century skills and international mindedness.
The stellar teaching staff is assisted by graduate level teacher candidates from UCSB providing greater support for students at every grade level with the latest research-based practices. Faculty researchers and UCSB undergraduate tutors partner with teachers to deliver the latest evidence-based instruction.