V99 N1 kappanonline.org 15 What does it take to sustain a productive partnership in education? Since 2004, eight of New York City’s leading cultural institutions — including museums, zoos, and botanical gardens — have worked with the New York City Department of Education to support effective science instruction in the city’s middle schools. By Karen Hammerness, Anna MacPherson, Maritza Macdonald, Hudson Roditi, and Linda Curtis-Bey In 2002, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) approached the New York City Department of Education to offer its assistance in responding to a new policy mandate. Out of concern that too few middle graders were getting a solid foundation in the sciences, city officials had declared that in order to graduate from 8th grade and enroll in high school, every student must complete at least one extensive, multipart scientific investigation. At the time, however, the schools were facing a severe shortage of science teachers overall, much less ones who were prepared to guide students in conducting complex, independent projects. How would the school system make up for this lack of expertise? Perhaps AMNH could help fill the gap. KAREN HAMMERNESS (khammerness@amnh.org, @khammerness) is director of educational research and evaluation, ANNA MACPHERSON is manager of educational research and evaluation, MARITZA MACDONALD is senior director of education and policy and co-director, MAT (emeritus), and HUDSON RODITI is director of Urban Advantage, all at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, N.Y. LINDA CURTIS-BEY is executive director, STEM, New York City Department of Education. Urban Advantage partner coordinators at Black Rock Forest in New York attend their yearly retreat. Photo: John Tom, New York City Department of Education