Portland Public Schools, founded in 1851, is an urban school district in Portland, Oregon. With approximately 47,000 students in 85 schools, it is the largest school district in the Pacific Northwest. Jackson Middle School, a Leonard Bernstein School for Artful Learning, serves 600 students in grades 6-8 in SW Portland.
Participation in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program has energized our community around science and technology supporting our district’s Science Vision Statement: “When science is learned through scientific inquiry, students are able to view science as an interdisciplinary study applicable to the changing world.” All students at Jackson had the opportunity to participate in SSEP by entering proposals in the experimental design competition. This real-life scientific application has given students the ability to move way beyond the classroom in their scientific endeavours.
