PS Science

PS Science began in 2006 as a project of the Crossroads Community Outreach Foundation, an initiative of the Crossroads School in Santa Monica, ultimately becoming an independent nonprofit in 2018. PS Science was established in response to a disconcerting trend: California students ranked at the bottom of science exam scores in the United States. Because California does not test students in science until the fifth grade, science instruction has not been a priority during these early years. These challenges are exacerbated in low-income schools that do not have the discretionary resources to dedicate to early science instruction.

PS Science was founded to remediate this issue by supporting classrooms in Title I elementary schools, and the organization seeks to build on children's natural curiosity about the world to position science as fun and engaging. Today, PS Science works in partnership with 228 classrooms across 17 schools in the Los Angeles area. Its impact is notable: in 2019, PS Science fourth-grade participants performed 99 percent better than the national average in a standardized science assessment.