Exploring the Common Core State Standards at Westmont Elementary (Pomona, CA)

The Regenerative Student Community Fellowship Program (RSCF) was created by Dr. Kyle Brown, director of the Lyle Center at Cal Poly Pomona, in 2012. The fellows not only taught in the classrooms, but also empowered the community of Pomona to address environmental and societal challenges. By the year???s end, these six individuals were pivotal in assisting to develop a vision of a regenerative community in today???s environment. Interestingly, as for the 2013 ??? 2014 school year, primary through high school students will no longer adhere to the old state standards that dictated how and what they learned. Now, new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been implemented and many schools are slowly adjusting to this new change. After some thought, we thought it fitting to test the effectiveness of the program by evaluating the training mechanisms used to assist the fellows with their experience. The purpose of the study revolves around two main questions: In what ways might CCSS support developmental assets essential for the healthy development of young people as well as the regeneration of communities? What role can environmental education projects (RCSF) play in this process at the primary grade levels? Through this study, we are looking to study the effectiveness of this program by observing the preparedness of the fellows in cultivating engaging curricula and the overall relevance of the Common Core State Standards