Editor’s Note
Find out what’s going on in your area—and farther afield—with NSTA’s District Dispatches. These reports, created by NSTA leadership, share regional news affecting science educators.
Arkansas
K–16 educators, science specialists, and members of the Arkansas State Department of Education will review key issues in science at a science education summit this month. The summit is being held in advance of revisions to the state science frameworks. For more information on the frameworks, go to http://arkansased.org/teachers/frameworks2.html#Science. Send e-mail to summit organizer William F. McComas, Parks Family Professor of Science Education at the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions, at mccomas@uark.edu to learn more about the summit.
The new University of Arkansas Discovery Zone hosted an open house for teachers on August 27 before it opened to the public on August 31 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. A branch of the Arkansas Discovery Network, the new museum will house traveling exhibits rotating through each of the network’s seven museums. Exhibits remain at each site for six months. University of Arkansas Discovery Zone admission is free. For more information, visit http://arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org.
—Melissa Miller, District VII Director
Maryland
The Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) District has been awarded a five-year, $12.5 million Minority Students Pipeline grant by the National Science Foundation. The partnership among PGCPS; Bowie State University; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; and Prince George’s Community College will increase the amount of underrepresented populations pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. They will work to strengthen teaching capacity in STEM areas to better engage students and increase awareness of STEM in one of the largest minority-majority counties in the country. For more information, see www1.pgcps.org/msp.
—Damaries Blondonville, District III Director
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Science Teachers Association 2009 Conference, themed “My Science: Connecting With 21st Century Students,” will be held on Saturday, November 7, in Edmund. For more information, visit www.oklahomascienceteachersassociation.org/?page_id=42.
The Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden Research and Education Center is hosting open houses on Saturdays through October at the temporary visitor center. The center will include 60 acres of gardens and features as well as 160 acres of historically and ecologically significant forest and prairie. Walking trails will be open. For more information, consult http://oklahomacentennialbotanicalgarden.com.
—Pamela Christol, District XIII Director
Pennsylvania
A new statewide program would increase collaboration among higher education institutions and schools and school districts to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Under the partnership program, Innovation Grants would reward school districts, colleges, universities, and science/technology educational organizations providing innovative science or technology programs. The Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association, the American Chemical Society (ACS) and its Pennsylvania Legislative and Government Affairs Committee, the HandsOn Science Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and NSTA will promote the program, which supports Pennsylvania House Bill 713. To read the bill, go to www.legis.state.pa.us and enter “713” in the “Find Legislation” field.
—Christine Royce, Professional Development Division Director
South Carolina
The South Carolina Department of Education expanded long-running efforts to improve instruction in science and other core subject areas this year by launching S2MART (Support Services for Making a Real Transformation) Regional Centers. Specialists in the core content areas of science, mathematics, and literacy and in professional development operate eight S2MART Regional Centers, based on former Mathematics and Science Regional Centers. The centers will deliver tiered services—including ongoing training and support of school-based instructional coaches and instructional specialists, and brokered school assessment and planning services—to districts, schools, and teachers. For further information, visit www.s2martsc.org.
—Gregory MacDougall, District VI Director
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) will hold its annual convention in Milwaukee, October 29–30. Attendees can also participate in an “Evening of Discovery” open house at Discovery World, where they can explore the facility’s labs, tour its aquariums, and try its exhibits. For more information, go to www.weac.org/Calendar_And_Events/calendar/2009Convention.aspx.
—Hedi Baxter Lauffer, District XII Director