Breaking from the Past: How Sumter School District Navigated the OpenSciEd Pedagogical Shift
Breaking from the Past: How Sumter School District Navigated the OpenSciEd Pedagogical Shift
Quick Take: Choosing OpenSciEd is often the easy part. Implementing it is where many districts struggle. Sumter School District in South Carolina approached the transition strategically, using Activate Learning’s Certified Version of OpenSciEd Middle School to provide the structure, materials, and support teachers needed to successfully shift to three-dimensional science instruction. That strategic rollout generated early momentum and is now guiding the district’s expansion of OpenSciEd into elementary and high school grades.
The Challenge: A Major Pedagogical Shift Without a Playbook
Like many districts across the country, Sumter School District in South Carolina spent years updating standards and resources while working to improve science outcomes. Yet, despite those changes, student results remained largely unchanged.
When South Carolina introduced the South Carolina College - and Career-Ready (SC CCR) Science Standards in 2021, aligned closely with the three-dimensional learning framework of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), district leaders recognized that improving outcomes would require more than new materials. It would mean rethinking how science was taught.
To prepare teachers for the shift, the district hosted a series of workshops to unpack the new standards and explore their implications for classroom instruction. But during the final workshop session, teachers voiced concerns that would reshape the district’s entire science transformation strategy.
For Richard Phillips, Sumter’s District Science Coordinator, it was a profound moment of clarity. “When we got to that sixth workshop, teachers were very vulnerable,” recalls Mr. Phillips. “They said, ‘We know very clearly the standards, but we’re not sure how to teach them because there’s a major pedagogical shift here that we have to make.’”
That moment of vulnerability could’ve derailed Sumter’s plan to overhaul science instruction. But, rather than being deterred, Phillips saw an opportunity. If teachers were honest about what they didn’t know and willing to grow outside their comfort zone, the district could be far more strategic about the support they actually need.
To give students science instruction that builds critical thinking and prepares them for the future, teachers would need a high-quality curriculum designed for three-dimensional learning and the implementation support to help them navigate the pedagogical shift.
“That's what drove me to OpenSciEd,” explained Phillips. “Our call to action for implementing OpenSciEd was ‘breaking from the past to move our thinking forward.”
The Solution: Implementation Infrastructure for OpenSciEd
A 2024 Digital Promise study of 155 teachers across 34 states, conducted in partnership with OpenSciEd and Carnegie, found that overwhelming materials, pedagogical shifts, and a lack of systemic support are the most common barriers to successful OpenSciEd implementation.
In other words, curriculum alone isn’t enough.
Before officially rolling out OpenSciEd, Phillips recognized that, for Sumter to navigate the ambitious transition to investigation-centered science, teachers would need more than access to the free materials. They would need support from day one.
The district chose Activate Learning’s Certified Version of OpenSciEd, which provides an implementation framework designed to address all of the barriers identified in the Digital Promise study. The solution includes:
- Complete science kits (organized, quality-tested materials for every unit)
- Streamlined digital platform (for educators and students)
- Printed teacher editions (classroom-ready reference materials)
- Personalized professional learning (initial training and ongoing support)
- Assessment tools and adaptive resources
- Responsive partnership (consultative account management)
Activate Learning’s curriculum resources and support removed friction around materials and planning, allowing teachers to confidently focus on the larger instructional shift: helping students think like scientists.
Sumter’s OpenSciEd strategy started small. In 2023, the district launched a Year Zero opt-in pilot, inviting middle school principals to volunteer for early implementation. Two schools participated, allowing district leaders to observe classrooms, gather feedback, and understand what teachers needed to succeed before expanding districtwide.
Early benchmark results from pilot classrooms showed encouraging signals that gave district leaders the green light to expand their adoption.
“Within two weeks, I was getting emails and phone calls, videos, and pictures from the classrooms. All three teachers said the same thing: ‘I cannot believe the transformation I’m seeing in my students!" -- Richard Phillips (Science Coordinator, Sumter School District)
iA School-Level Example: R.E. Davis College Preparatory Academy’s Journey
Illustrates What Thoughtful Implementation Can Look Like
Within Sumter’s broader district rollout, R.E. Davis College Preparatory Academy (a rural, Title I school) provides a clear example of how leadership, teacher collaboration, and support systems come together inside a school.
Principal Maria Dantzler, who arrived at R.E. Davis in 2023 (the same year OpenSciEd was introduced in the district), understood all too well the challenges of implementing new curriculum. She responded by building a culture of support, including trusting her teachers, protecting their collaboration time, and partnering closely with district leadership to ensure they had what they needed to succeed with the new instructional model. Most importantly, she learned alongside them.
R.E. Davis’ science teachers, Keonia Davis (6th and 7th grades) and Michelle Sutton (8th grade), embraced OpenSciEd’s investigation-centered approach, guiding students through hands-on experiments and collaborative problem solving.
In addition to the observable classroom transformation teachers witnessed daily, R.E. Davis saw early assessment indicators moving in a positive direction. Sixth-grade science proficiency rose from 19.5% in 2023 to 40.5% in 2025. The improvement suggests the instructional shift is beginning to translate into measurable progress alongside the qualitative changes teachers are seeing in their classrooms.
Activate Learning’s support systems helped make this transition more manageable for school leaders and teachers. Organized science kits reduced materials logistics, printed teacher editions provided reliable classroom references, and ongoing support helped teachers stay focused on instruction rather than operational hurdles.
R.E. Davis’ experience reinforces an important lesson for districts considering OpenSciEd adoption: meaningful instructional change requires leadership alignment, teacher support, and systems that make implementation manageable in real classrooms.
Insights on OpenSciEd Implementation for District Leaders
Sumter’s experience highlights something many districts discover during OpenSciEd adoption—and what research consistently confirms: curriculum alone doesn’t change classrooms.
Leadership decisions, teacher collaboration, and practical support systems like those provided by Activate Learning determine whether transformative three-dimensional learning take hold or stall before they begin.
The early progress in Sumter School District offers a practical look at what that implementation journey can look like in real classrooms.
Ready to see how strategic OpenSciEd implementation transforms classroom practice? Watch this deep-dive case study video to explore the lessons learned and see how Sumter built momentum from pilot to district-wide progress with Activate Learning.
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