The development and implementation of an upper elementary science curriculum at a science, mathematics and technology school

Alexander Science Center School is a dependent charter school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It was conceived through a partnership between the California Science Center and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves students in grades K-5 with most coming from the surrounding neighborhood. The focus of the school is on Mathematics, Science, and Technology with an emphasis on inquiry and in the integration of Mathematics, English Language Arts, and Social Studies with Science. The curriculum chosen by school was designed by the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) and it incorporates exhibits at the adjacent California Science Center Museum and the Amgen Center for Science Learning. This study is essentially a description of the implementation of this curriculum and is framed by the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Fourth and fifth grade teachers were interviewed to determine their Levels of Use (LoU) of the science curriculum and to discuss the challenges and barriers they encountered in implementing the science curriculum.;Three overarching ideas emerged from this study, teacher collaboration, administrative support, and professional development. These three ideas are the basis for the barriers and successes that the Alexander Science Center School has experienced in the implementation of their science curriculum.