It’s a beautiful afternoon at the Center for Research in Environmental Sciences and Technologies campus in Wilsonville.
Waiting beneath the white canvas canopies, where just a few hours earlier students learned about the geologic ages of the Earth, Jay and Amy Schauer appreciated the mild summer weather and the end of their time with the West Linn-Wilsonville School District.
For over 20 years, the pair have served the district, Jay Schauer as a teacher and teacher mentor and Amy Schauer as the CREST Director. In the spring, the couple announced that they’d both be retiring from their respective roles at the same time.
“I'm trying out new lessons right up to the end because I just love learning about how people are learning,” said Amy Schauer. “And I love sharing all of this with students of all ages. Literally all ages, K through college. I am proud of all of the thousands of kids who come through CREST every year and their teachers who have some kind of authentic ‘A-ha’ moment with research, with science, in the context of the great outdoors.”
Amy and Jay Schauer met at the University of Alaska when they were in graduate school. Jay served as a student teacher, studied education and worked in a camera store, while Amy was pursuing a Ph.D. in marine sciences specializing in marine bird ecology.
After moving to Oregon, Jay Schauer joined the district in 1992 as a science teacher at West Linn High School, then moved over to the newly opened Wilsonville High School in 1995.
“I’m the last of the original Wildcats,” said Jay Schauer. “Barely — two people retired last year.”
Over the years he’s taught classes like Advanced Placement biology, marine biology, oceanography and AP statistics. Three years ago, he took on the role of the secondary teacher mentor for the school district, working to provide support and guidance for younger high school educators.
Amy Schauer started as the science fair coordinator in the district in 2006 before taking over the role of CREST director in 2018. She’s worked tirelessly to get every student in the district out of the classroom and learning outdoors.
During the end of the 2023-24 school year, more than 4,000 students utilized CREST to add to their science and environmental education.
“(What) both of us have tried to do and enjoy doing in our careers is showing how science is really a multidisciplinary effort. It brings all of those things together when you are trying to answer a research question – physics and chemistry and biology may weave into it, as well as some engineering and some mathematics and some art and some language arts as well,” said Amy.
As science educators, both with a background in research, the Schauers put a special emphasis on the role of discovery and hands-on experience in their teaching.
“I think the things that make somebody a good scientist are the things that would make you a good historian or a good writer: You're an observer and you're good at observing, and you're good at asking questions,” said Jay. “So many of the things that Amy does with the little ones is they’re looking at something and they’re coming up with questions.”
The inquiring mind is something that Amy and Jay have seen at almost every grade level. No matter the age, from 5 to 15, students still develop questions, propose a hypothesis and then get to experimentation and discovery.
“I have just found that I love watching people's minds work, especially younger minds because they're still making meaning out of the different experiences that they're having. Not that we're not, it's just that we have quite a stockpile of them. There's a lot that they're experiencing in new ways; I love that,” said Amy. “With (International Science and Engineering Fair), it was always about, ‘What is it that you are interested in? We can do science about anything.’ Then listening and hearing some of the things that they're passionate or interested in and building from that curiosity.”
Current ISEF program coordinator Danielle Schroeder said that Amy models curiosity for the students.
“She almost always knows the answer to someone’s query, but she’s never afraid to say, ‘I don’t know the answer but here’s some other related information I know that will help us figure it out and some strategies we can use to find new information.’ Amy leans into the things students, but also all people, really love and get excited about and she helps them go deep into the topic,” said Schroeder.
Although they've both worked in the district, they haven't always been the only Schauers. Their twins graduated high school in 2022, one from West Linn and the other from Wilsonville.
So, with such a wealth of knowledge about science education, did the Schauers have any advice for young teachers?
“I have an uncharacteristically short answer: Go outdoors,” said Amy, while Jay smiled next to her.
“Yes, get outside of the classroom,” he agreed. “My challenge, when I taught marine biology, it takes a lot to get kids to the coast and I’d do it. It was a major production that was worth getting out because for some kids that was the first time they had ever been either to coast or out on the ocean.”
As the secondary teacher mentor for the district, Jay has put a lot of time and thought into models of mentorship for younger teachers. With budget cuts and the difficulties around teacher retention, he’s proud that all of the teachers he’s worked with have stayed in education.
Both of the Schauers have been moved time and time again by the recognition they’ve received from past students. The 2024 Science Fair keynote speaker, Dr. Sabrina Levy Maoz, thanked both of them for their mentorship.
“I was super fortunate to have a collaborating teacher who was a really phenomenal mentor and helped me thrive the first couple of years teaching,” said Jay. “That’s something I’ve felt fortunate to do myself: Focusing on putting more ownership on the students for their learning, and trying to help them figure out what they're learning, not just the grades.”
In the case of both Schauers, their roles at the school district will remain unfilled temporarily due to budget cuts. Their colleagues will fill in the gaps, although many said there will be no replacing either of them.
“Ask more questions,” said Amy. “You tend to start, ‘OK, I'm asking the questions of the universe, but with other people, I'm supposed to be telling them things.’ So I'd say ask more questions. It kind of goes hand in hand with what (Jay) said about finding your mentors. If I could tell my younger self that, I think that would be helpful. And to do enjoy the ride, enjoy the mistakes, enjoy the adventure, because it all just comes together.”
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