The Waterbury Public Schools District is one of the lowest performing districts in Connecticut, and 72.5% of their students qualify for the free or reduced price lunch program. This summer, 75 Waterbury students from grades three to five and their teachers discovered watershed science and explored nearby Long Island Sound and Candlewood Lake with EdAdvance, an education provider that worked with the schools to present “WoW! The Wonders of Watersheds.” Academic enrichment activities like WOW that complement regular academic programs are a great asset for students in underserved schools.
![Star Lake Elementary and Totem Middle School students work with the Environmental Science Center to sample macroinvertebrates at a field study site in Washington state as part of a 2017 NOAA-21st CCLC Watershed STEM Education Partnership Grant. (Image credit: Environmental Science Center) Star Lake Elementary and Totem Middle School students work with the Environmental Science Center to sample macroinvertebrates at a field study site in Washington state as part of a 2017 NOAA-21st CCLC Watershed STEM Education Partnership Grant.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_width_1275/public/legacy/image/2019/Jun/macrosampling_16x9.jpg?itok=CS_jCiIX)
Star Lake Elementary and Totem Middle School students work with the Environmental Science Center to sample macroinvertebrates at a field study site in Washington state as part of a 2017 NOAA-21st CCLC Watershed STEM Education Partnership Grant. (Image credit: Environmental Science Center)