Mr. Rise - Teacher Information

Contact Information

Hello! My name is Jason Rise and I am in my eleventh year teaching science at Sacajawea Middle School. Before that, I taught middle school science for 15 years in the Steilacoom School District over on the coast. I earned my B.S. degree in Biology from Whitworth University, my M.Ed. degree from Eastern Washington University, while also attending University of Arizona for a spell in-between. My wife and I have four children, two daughters and two sons. Each of my daughters got married last summer (my, how time flies!) and my oldest just recently gave birth to baby Max, making us grandparents for the first time (again, how time flies!).

I’ve always felt instructing middle school-age students is what I’m best suited for. I love this age group and believe they require an extra measure of patience, humor, compassion, accountability, etc., all of which are qualities I value personally and continuously strive to demonstrate to others. I try to hold myself and my students to the highest standard of responsibility, character, and respect at all times. I make it a point to consistently put forth my very best effort in designing/implementing lessons that challenge the student to think like a scientist and that reach a variety of different learning styles. Students shouldn’t just know science, I believe. Rather, traditional types of content-area learning should be balanced with students doing science (i.e. hands-on labs and the like). This gives them the opportunity to experience the inquiry process for themselves which, I feel, is fundamental to teaching and learning in the scientific disciplines.