The Ross Valley School District is in the implementation phase of the California Next Generation Science Standards. NGSS is built on three dimensions of learning: Science and Engineering Practices (how we do science), the Cross Cutting Concepts (how science topics connect to one another), and the Disciplinary Core Ideas (science concepts). The standards are written as performance expectations which describe what a student should be able to know and do within these three dimensions of learning. 

Ross Valley teachers are focussing on the scientific practice of modeling. Students in grades TK through 8th grade are using models to represent their thinking about a scientific phenomenon. The experiences in which they engage over the course of each unit of study help them to build and revise their models and clarify their understanding of a phenomenon.