Students at Natchaug clinical day treatment schools explore real-time environmental data with hands-on experiential learning, and develop crucial socio-emotional skills with the New England Science & Sailing Foundation (NESS) thanks to the NOAA BWET grant and mentoring from NESS Stem Education Ambassador (SEA) AmeriCorps members.

Natchaug clinical day treatment schools provide behavioral health support for students in grades K–12 whose social, emotional or behavioral health problems prevent them from functioning successfully in a regular school environment. (https://natchaug.org/programs-services/schools). NESS has partnered with the Natchaug school system since 2020, bringing NESS Classroom Expeditions to students in three schools: Thames Valley, Shoreline, and Green Valley. The 3-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) grant supplies funding to support program materials and the development of lesson plans that connect NESS Classroom Expeditions to NOAA’s real-time scientific data. For instance, students learn to make a weather report using NOAA weather maps and compare to local weather after using equipment such as anemometers and compasses.

As part of NESS’ partnership with Natchaug, NESS SEA AmeriCorps members work within Thames Valley to provide additional academic and socio-emotional support for students. This past school year, AmeriCorps members Kim and Anna provided one-on-one student mentoring three days a week at Thames Valley, allowing for the cultivation of meaningful relationships and trust during weekly STEM programs. Nina Quaratella, Associate Program Director, has worked with Thames Valley for two consecutive years, and she notes that the addition of B-WET along with the AmeriCorps program has been transformative for student success both in sciences but also in socio-emotional skills such as leadership, communication, and teamwork.

Kim and Anna included NOAA data and resources from NOAA Fisheries, NOAA real-time data resources, and the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research Okeanos Explorer materials to create their own set of STEM lessons to implement with the students. With deliberate planning to scaffold topics and complement the students’ alternative learning setting, Kim developed a 4-week unit on ocean chemistry, while Anna designed a 4-week unit on freshwater ecology and wildlife management. These lessons include hands-on activities such as building a salt circuit and experimenting with density. Students   created microhabitats using the school’s on-site wetland, installed a wildlife camera, and kicked netting at a local stream to search for macro-invertebrates. We connected these topics to NOAA resources referencing watershed maps and water quality data.

With the implementation of the NOAA B-Wet resources, students gain valuable knowledge through hands-on experiential lessons, while our AmeriCorps members enjoy an incredibly rewarding year of service.

Learn more about NESS’s NOAA BWET Program here!