Students and Staff at Piedmont Avenue Elementary are Champions of Discovery
Major change rarely happens overnight. For a seed bed to ‘suddenly’ burst into bloom, it takes long work of tending soil, sowing, and watering before the colorful results emerge.
As our CRS team congratulated the many teachers from Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue Elementary, handing out prize packages and Certificates of Excellence at our Champions of Discovery awards program last month, we basked in knowing this moment of STEM glory reflected the culmination of years of CRS support, partnership and nurturing that has resulted strong science learning for thousands of children.
The star at the center of this joyful constellation of STEM achievement is teacher Juli Ward.
Juli doing monthly garden taste tests with students.
"My science hero is Ms. Ward because she inspires me...to imagine becoming a scientist who studies electricity."
Early in her teaching career, nearly 16 years ago, Juli turned to CRS for information and support in bringing science to life for her students. Over time, she attended CRS professional development sessions, welcomed visiting scientists into her classroom, and earned Champions of Discovery recognition many years in a row.
Last year, as she picked up her Champions prizes, including books and science materials for her students, Juli set herself a new challenge, declaring to us:
Throughout the 2025-26 school year, Juli emailed her colleagues about the Champions monthly challenges, printed challenge templates, and shared reminders at staff meetings, encouraging every teacher to participate.
And, she succeeded! This year, every classroom teacher at Piedmont Avenue completed the challenge and earned recognition for excellence! Their students documented the ways they explored scientific phenomena, gathered data, met scientists, and discovered science 'hidden in plain sight' in their daily lives.
CRS loves supporting individual teachers, like Juli, to discover their own inner scientist, to extend those opportunities to their students, and ultimately to amplify the impact across entire schools.
Congratulations Juli and the entire Piedmont Avenue team!
And to all of the 2026 Champions of Discovery.
Here are some examples of the young scientists at Piedmont Avenue and some teacher reflections
I think my biggest surprise was the wealth of prior knowledge that students had coming into experiments and lessons. They knew more about magnetism, insects, and space than I thought they would. They were able to share their knowledge and it was great to see their confidence. - 3rd grade
During a science lesson, our students who are blind surprised us with how deeply they engaged through touch, sound, and careful listening. They asked thoughtful questions and made connections others hadn’t noticed. - Grade 3-5
One special moment was seeing students help each other test ideas and get excited about their discoveries. Their curiosity, excitement, and confidence showed how much they have grown. It was a reminder that when students are engaged and love science, learning becomes an exciting adventure every week. - 1st grade
A surprising moment during a science lesson occurred when students collaboratively worked to chronologically organize the stages of a plant’s life cycle. Although this concept had not been explicitly taught, students engaged in thoughtful discussion, debated their hypotheses aloud, and ultimately arrived at the correct sequence together—demonstrating strong reasoning, communication, and collaborative problem-solving skills. - TK
