In November, 2002 she began coming in to all 18 classes at Dublin Elementary to teach science for 45 minutes each month. The kids loved it, and so did the faculty. Soon, the kids couldn’t wait for their next lesson, asking their teachers, when Mrs. “S”, as she’s come to be known, would be teaching them again. In 2003/04, the in-class program was brought back by popular demand – from parents, children and faculty. Near the end of 03/04, another school jumped on board, hiring S is for Science for an accelerated six session in-class program.
Renee Sher became interested in science because
her 4th grade teacher loved science,
and spent class time working with Renee and her
fellow students. Further encouraged by her
parents, she went on to earn a degree in
Molecular Biology, find a career in the
laboratory for several years, then moved up to
regulatory compliance. Renee Sher’s goal is to get children to enjoy science and to see that it is not intimidating, boring, or difficult. She believes that in their formative years, interesting, fun experiences around science will encourage kids to think about science in a positive manner, making it more likely to further their science studies in higher grades, and to perhaps choose a career in science. . Mrs. Sher says, “It’s such an exciting sight for me to see so many kids fall in love with science. Science has so much to offer all of us in the future, but talented, bright minds will be needed to make those future discoveries and advancements. Maybe one of my kids will help cure cancer or eradicate world hunger!”  For 2004/05, S is for Science was
hired at four local schools for her in-class supplement
program. The lessons were re-designed with
state science standards in mind. Over 1600 students
benefited. For
2005/2006, five Dublin schools hired S
is for Science, benefiting nearly 2000
students. It pushed Mrs. S to her limits
of available time and energy to deliver so much
content to so many students. Work began on
another way to make her program available to
more students, and the video-driven science
lesson and hands-on kit concept was started.
Investment and development of the new medium was
intense, with the first beta video shown in June
of 2006.The live program continued in 2006/2007, but six of the most fundamental lessons were converted to video format and deployed in many classrooms. In March of 2007 worldwide distribution arrangements were sought, and by summer three of the leading firms had agreed to carry the product, for debut in January, 2008. New lessons were built in 2007 as well, and continue to be created and produced regularly. |
