MEMBERS OF THE LOS ANGELES EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP'S Target Science teacher network and the UCLA Science Project will gather on Saturday and participate in a day of personal and professional development.

Teachers involved in these two professional development teacher networks attending this year’s Fall Leadership Academy will hear from keynote speaker Kathy DiRanna, director of Science Education Programs at UC Irvine, who will discuss the history of science education in California and update teachers on the recently adopted state Science Standards for California schools.

DiRanna, who serves on the California Science Education Advisory Committee, will also speak to teachers about the development of the science standards. Teachers, in turn, will have an opportunity to discuss the new standards within grade-level groups and how such standards will impact their teaching.

Teachers will spend the second part of the day planning their 1999 calendar of workshops, leadership meetings and family science events. They will also set the groundwork for "In Search of Partners in Science," a program aimed at improving student achievement in science. The UCLA Science Project will recruit three elementary schools from the Venice-Westchester complexes which are underachieving academically and help lead teachers develop a plan to improve their school’s science and literacy instruction.

"We desperately need new ways to improve students achievement," said Janet Thornber, co-director of the UCLA Science Project. "Partnerships bring together valuable resources that can better provide the support teachers need to face this challenging task."

At a series of Saturday and weekday meetings, 12 Target Science teachers will work with 12 teacher leaders from the three schools to develop a science plan for the school. Teachers will identify content areas that they and their school colleagues need to develop before they can effectively teach the content required by the standards.

"There is no doubt in our minds that science instruction provides an invaluable vehicle for developing literacy skills," Thornber said. "What better way is there for getting children to talk and listen to each other than a search for critters on the play yard or half an hour spent exploring musical instruments or toy cars rolling down a ramp."

Target Science is a teacher-directed network that brings secondary and elementary teachers together to improve science education. Providing incentives, resources and professional development, Target Science unites more than 3,000 teachers in an effort to improve classroom instruction in 91 schools in the LAUSD. Target Science is based on the belief that all students, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic background, should be able to inquire, reason, problem-solve and communicate to be prepared for the 21st century.