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			biological problems. Aitchison was a founding member of the team.      Ask him what makes him most proud of his work at ISB and Aitchison will tell you it's the members of his lab and the contributions they've made by working together as a team.      John enjoyed science as an undergraduate but fell in love with it once he learned that the field offered him the opportunity to discover things that no one knew.      "Reading about science is great, but being the 'discoverer' of something new is really remarkable," said Aitchison.      John lives near Seattle, has an amazing wife (also funny), two equally amazing teenagers and a racing sailboat he's named Moose Unknown. At one point he was invited to crew on an America's cup yacht. He wanted to do more than wait tables and valet park cars in tropical destinations between crewing gigs, though. He wanted it all to mean more than that...and he's succeeded.		The Systems Education Approach to Science, or SEA-Science project, which involves 13 elementary schools in the district, is a "train-the-trainer" model. Two "Teacher Leaders" from each elementary school are being trained and coached to efficiently and effectively spread best-practice science teaching methods throughout a district. The program also supports a systems education approach to science in grades K-5.      "The Systems Education Approach to Science is intended to 'unsilo' science and connect it to the other disciplines in the elementary schools," said Dana Riley Black, CIS director.      One area of focus during the last year involved CIS staff working with teachers to help link science, math, writing and reading.      "Research has shown that integrating science into these different curriculum areas at the school system level can improve comprehension and performance in all areas," said Riley Black.      As part of the project, ISB scientists are working with Teacher Leaders to help in their understanding of the nature of science. Each summer these K-5 teachers also participate in a four-day "Summer Academy" and a one-day "Science Experience" at ISB's research facility.      This past school year Teacher Leaders facilitated science and writing professional development training for colleagues in their building. In addition, eight Teacher Leaders facilitated district-wide science and writing professional development. Fifty-seven elementary teachers, representing all 13 elementary schools, "opted in" to this voluntary effort.      "The SEA-Science project has fundamentally changed the way we do science in my classroom," said one teacher. "I love to watch the students make connections between what they are learning in science and the skills they need in math and literacy. Most importantly, they LOVE science, they all feel successful at it, and they are constantly using higher level thinking skills."
	SEA-Science Project Cynthia Lorang, a research associate at ISB, works with a Renton School District teacher.		A PROGRAM TO "UNSILO" SCIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM      Ask parents what they worry about and you can be pretty certain that "quality of education" will be in the top three subjects. Ask business owners the same question and "workforce readiness and quality" will be right up there.      The two are inextricably linked, and ISB's Center for Inquiry Science (CIS) has implemented a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-funded program in partnership with the Renton School District that's designed to address both issues.
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