A successful literacy and science pilot project is laying the foundation for a future of "wild experiences" for Sioux Falls School District Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students.
Following a year-long successful pilot with Garfield Elementary Kindergarten classrooms, The Promising Futures Fund, in partnership with the Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium and the Sioux Falls School District, are creating a literacy initiative to reach students in all 24 elementary schools.
More than a year ago, the Promising Futures Fund, which funds field trips for 14 elementary schools in Sioux Falls with high rates of poverty, approached the Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium and the Sioux Falls School District to find ways to make field trips more impactful, specifically focusing on literacy. A collaborative effort between the Education and Conservation Director of the Zoo and SFSD Curriculum Services team members developed lesson plans to connect literacy and science standards to field trip experiences at the Butterfly House & Aquarium campus in the fall, an onn-site ZooMobile visit in the winter, and a trip to the Great Plains Zoo campus in the spring. High-quality literature was selected to support young readers in pre-and-post lessons to focus on letter and sound recognition, develop purposeful questions, and create writings to explain their experiences. Research shows when students connect reading with experiences, learning comes to life and transfers to higher academic achievement.
This fall, 1st graders at Garfield will participate in the pilot, followed by a 2nd grade pilot during the 2026-27 school year. When the pilots are complete, this curriculum will be used in the 24 elementary schools in the Sioux Falls School District.
The Promising Futures Fund was awarded a $50,000 grant for this project from the Dorothy Day Davenport Grant as part of the Mary Chilton Chapter DAR Foundation. Education is a key pillar of the DAR. Promising Futures will be the largest funder, along with the School District, to cover costs of busing to the Zoo & Aquarium, books for instruction and entry costs for the visits. The Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium is providing a significant discount to the entry fees and covering the costs of the ZooMobile visits to the schools.