Flood Control Through The Eyes of Elementary Students

To adults, preventing floods can be complex. Thoughts of geology, hydrology and multiple engineering disciplines create a picture of complexity.

Yet, to elementary school students in Valley Ranch, it’s far more straightforward: “Take the water coming out of the sky to where it needs to go to avoid problems in our neighborhood!”

For the past two school years, elementary students have tackled the world of flood control with a hands-on classroom study of the topic. IFCD 3’s connection with elementary schools in Valley Ranch schools started in 2017, when District leaders began discussing further means of educating the community about the need for flood control in the community.

While IFCD 3 had been using a variety of means of communication with the public for nearly a decade, District board and operations personnel knew that finding a way to reach out to students could expand interest in a topic that could influence future student focus on STEM, while also serving as a dinner table discussion-starter about the District’s work. The first step was reaching out to one of the schools to start exploring the possibilities.

“As soon as I connected with Ashley Hernandez, then a second-grade teacher at Valley Ranch Elementary, it was clear we could create an engaging program that would help VRE second graders achieve key learning objectives,“ said Ms. Matthys, IFCD 3 representative spearheading the program. “We worked together with other District team members to develop a flood control presentation and project-based learning activity that closely aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) science curriculum.”

Using this curriculum as a base, the two finalized the program and proceeded to implement it in the spring of 2018 with then IFCD operations leader Dallas Burke, who recently was named assistant general manager of DCURD, the agency that operates IFCD 3’s facilities under contract with IFCD 3. Based on social media and other feedback, student and parent reaction was swift and very positive. As a result, the program was expanded to the new Richard J. Lee Elementary School in spring, 2019, and to the new Canyon Ranch Elementary School this spring.

By connecting weather and water basics from a classroom presentation to recognizable flood control features in Valley Ranch, students participating in the classroom programs will have a better sense for how our flood control system serves people in neighborhoods throughout Valley Ranch… not to mention, providing the students with a ready answer to the timeless dinner table question: “What did you learn today?”