The GK-12 Science Outreach Program started 5 years ago and is funded by the National Science Foundation. U of O Physics Professor Dean Livelybrooks says at first the program served Lane County and later expanded to Bend, Redmond and Sisters. A new 3 million dollar grant helped them expand to Hermiston and Pendleton.

Dean Livelybrooks: “That’s actually something that’s fairly novel about our program and nationally fairly novel as well. We call it the “remote model”. These guys are assigned to school for a year and they’re assigned for two weeks each term. In other words two weeks in the fall two weeks in the winter two weeks in the spring. And they live there and they’re hosted by the schools arrange host families.”

Grad students co-teach with elementary science teachers. It’s a way to help enrich science programs in the schools and develop the grad students’ communication and teaching skills.

Livelybrooks says the program receives some state funding in addition to federal grants. He’s hoping to expand statewide.