About The Teacher

Name: Ms. Kluss

School: Santa Barbara Junior High School

Class: Physical Science 8

School Phone: 805-963-7751 x116

About The Teacher

I was born in Santa Barbara, attended local schools, and live in 
Goleta with my husband, two children, and many pets. My teaching philosophy 
is to help each student build skills to connect science concepts with the 
world around them.

My BA degree was earned in Zoology at the University of Hawaii, where I did 
field studies at Kure Atoll on nearly extinct Hawaiian monk seals.  I have 
worked in Los Padres National Forest on field surveys of arroyo toads, 
served as a naturalist on whale-watching boats, and still collaborate on 
monitoring outreach projects with local marine agencies. 

I earned teaching credentials for both secondary science and elementary 
schools at Chapman University. I have taught at all grade levels, and have 
taught and developed special programs for accelerated, mixed grade, ELD, and 
special-education students.  

Other programs: I've taught science workshops for the Museum of Natural 
History & Sea Center, and participated in many science outreach programs at 
UCSB and Channel Islands.

Professionally, I have participated in: 

1. Research Experiences for Teachers, based at UCSB's MRl lab, a NSF-funded 
program gives teachers the opportunity to connect lab research practices 
with classroom science investigations. Presented at RET teacher workshop 
March 2005.

2. Ocean Explorers, an NSF-funded program coordinated by Center for Image 
Processing and Channel Islands NMS. Students analyze geographic problems 
using satellite data to create maps with overlapping data layers. A team of 
students also traveled to Santa Cruz Island to participate in field research.
Our lessons on SB geography and kelp/surfgrass distribution around Santa 
Cruz Island were presented at the annual GIS conference in San Diego August 
2006.

3. National Geographic Society's "Oceans for Life" lesson on Polynesia was 
piloted by 7th grade students and published as a Teacher Feature on the 
EdNet website. SBJHS students were also featured in an August 2005 NGS field 
study photo essay on Santa Cruz Island.

4. Santa Barbara Channelkeepers, a local marine organization involved in 
creek water monitoring and restoration of kelp beds in the Channel. We 
cultivate marine plants and algae in a classroom “ecocart”. SBJHS students 
were featured in a "Santa Barbara Beacon" newspaper article in Spring 2003.

5. Webwatchers, a National Science Teachers Association program based in 
Arlington, VA. A hand-picked team of 20 teachers from around the nation 
developed a web guide and the “Scilinks” system used in 
the Holt textbook. (July 2002)

6. TEAWET, a watershed education program sponsored by UCSB's Gevirtz 
Research Center and NSF, promotes inquiry science and offers teacher 
workshops throughout the year. I serve on the advisory board and as a 
participating teacher. (2006-present)

7. LEAPS, or "Let's Explore Applied Physical Science", sponsored by UCSB's 
Nanosystems Institute and NSF, puts physics grad students in 8th grade 
classes to mentor and guide students during experiments. This program was 
developed by Marilyn Garza, 8th grade lead teacher. (2006-present)

8. YEA, or "Youth Enrichment Adventures", developed by the Gevirtz Research 
Center at UCSB, is an outdoor summer science workshop for 7th and 8th 
graders.(June 2005-present)

9. Gevirtz Homework Center, developed by the Gevirtz Research Center, allows 
students a nurturing environment to complete their homework on a daily 
basis. (2003-present)

10. SBJHS Science Department Chair (2006-present)

Mission For The Class

Each student is supported in building skills and connecting 
science concepts to the wondrous processes of the world around 
them.