This week in education news, Title IV-A Coalition opposes President Trump’s plan to pull the plug on $1.2 billion block grant; research-practitioner partnerships across the country work to improve the quality of teachers who enter the teaching workforce; Deans for Impact launches new initiative that will focus on better preparing future teachers to incorporate cognitive science into their practice; hoping to fill empty factory jobs and reach across the aisle, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association pushes a plan to waive tuition at state universities to students who will stay around and teach STEM; robotics is an ideal STEM learning experience; Alabama Senate passes legislation to repeal common core; and science is the new black.

Coalition Opposes President’s Plan to Pull the Plug on This $1.2 Billion Block Grant

President Donald Trump’s 2020 proposed $64 billion education budget eliminates funding for the Title IV-A block grant, and a coalition of 35 organizations—many prominent in K-12 education—is fighting back. Read the article featured in EdWeek Market Brief.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Teacher Hiring

Imagine a world where school districts’ hiring departments can predict the longevity and effectiveness of a teacher before she steps foot into a classroom. t’s a scenario that’s proved difficult to make reality, but a body of emerging research is making inroads. There are a handful of research-practitioner partnerships across the country working to improve teacher hiring through a strategic approach to job interviews, recommendations, and resume screenings. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Deans for Impact Launches Teacher Prep Learning Science Initiative

Utilizing a $1.5 million Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant, the nonprofit will choose teacher programs to make the science of how students learn more accessible to educators. Read the article featured in Education DIVE.

Teachers Need More Pay, Not Merit Pay

I used to jump at the chance to share my views on performance pay for teachers. In my first article, published in 2007 when I was a third-year teacher, I wrote, “Performance pay done right could be one of the best things to happen to teachers, to our schools, and to our profession.” Today, I feel far more cautious about even discussing merit pay. The shortcomings of traditional teacher pay structures are still glaring, but the potential for disastrous alternatives is much clearer. Read the article featured in Education Week TEACHER.

STEM Students Would Get Free Tuition Under Illinois Bill

Hoping to fill empty factory jobs and reach across the aisle, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association pushes a plan to waive tuition at state universities to students who will stay around and teach science, tech, engineering and math. Read the article featured in Chicago Business.

America’s Schools Are Starved for Funds, and Teachers Are Paying the Price. Recent Strikes Are Only a Symptom of This Disease

In the past few weeks, thousands of teachers in Oakland, California, went on strike, following similar protests in Denver, Los Angeles, and West Virginia. We are only three months into 2019 — and teachers have already taken to the picket line four times this year. In response, some critics have condemned these protests, chastising teachers for deserting their classrooms and even proposing that they serve jail time or lose their certification. But these critics are missing the point. Rather than take aim at our nation’s teachers, this should be a wake-up call. These strikes are the symptom of a larger disease within our education system, where the support our students and teachers are receiving is as crumbling as the infrastructure of the schools. Read the article featured in The 74.

How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Science

No human, or team of humans, could possibly keep up with the avalanche of information produced by many of today’s physics and astronomy experiments. The deluge has many scientists turning to artificial intelligence for help. With minimal human input, AI systems such as artificial neural networks — computer-simulated networks of neurons that mimic the function of brains — can plow through mountains of data, highlighting anomalies and detecting patterns that humans could never have spotted. Read the article featured in Quanta Magazine.

Transforming Education: Robotics and Its Value for Next Gen Learning

Public education represents a community’s investment in its future. Considering that over 90 percent of American children, grades P-12, are in our public education system, we should be asking hard questions about what the return on this investment is or should be. The core mission of public education is to prepare students for their future so that they are contributing citizens, both economically and civically. Even better, our students should graduate with a strong competitive advantage so that, no matter their path, they will have optimum opportunities for success. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Alabama Senate passes bill to Repeal Common Core

The Alabama Senate has passed a bill that would require the state Board of Education and state Department of Education to adopt new learning standards to replace the Common Core standards the state has used for about eight years. The bill is sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, who unveiled it in a social media video, causing alarm for education officials who did not know it was coming and said it would be disruptive. Read the article featured on AL.com.

Science Is Soaring: Here’s How To Pursue A STEM Career And Why It Matters

Science is the new black. It impacts everyone, solves the world’s problems and ironically, there’s a disconnect: a skills gap equating to a shortage of professionals pursuing careers in science and STEM. This is juxtaposed with a strong demand and continued growth in a field that fuels innovation and offers job security. Read the article featured in Forbes.

Drones Take Their Place in the K-12 Classroom – “Drones Take Their Place in the K-12 Classroom

These small but mighty aircraft advance learning in computer programming and photography, and prep students for careers in this burgeoning field. Read the article featured in EdTech Magazine.

Stay tuned for next week’s top education news stories.

The Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs (CLPA) team strives to keep NSTA members, teachers, science education leaders, and the general public informed about NSTA programs, products, and services and key science education issues and legislation. In the association’s role as the national voice for science education, its CLPA team actively promotes NSTA’s positions on science education issues and communicates key NSTA messages to essential audiences.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

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When I was a classroom teacher, I relished opportunities to connect my high school biology students to real world science and applications of their textbook science. Now, in the informal sector, I find my role reversed, and I get to collaborate with classroom teachers and local districts, supporting their efforts to help STEM come alive.  The science classroom, the administration office, local industry, the informal sector – these are all parts of the STEM ecosystem, and, as with any ecosystem, each component plays a key role! That’s why at this year’s STEM Forum, we’re offering a new strand — Building STEM Ecosystems: Community Partnerships. This strand will highlight effective partnerships and collaborations between community, business/industry, museums, zoos, gardens and technology centers, afterschool programs, homeschool groups and education-focused entities with preK–16 schools and universities and home school groups. This strand will support teachers, informal institutions, community representatives and school administrators. We’ll explore how district leaders have effectively leveraged external support for STEM programs within their schools or districts. 

I look forward to your examples of contributing to a healthy STEM ecosystem, and to seeing you at the 2019 STEM Forum July 24—26 in San Francisco!

The 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, is a unique, focused event that brings together (informal and formal) educators and representatives from exhibiting companies who are interested in, and who have tools and resources to share that will ensure successful implementation of STEM education into our schools and communities. It is intended to provide resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM education, associated outreach programs, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 National Conference
St. Louis, April 11–14

2019 STEM Forum & Expo
San Francisco, July 24–26

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

Teachers at the high school level expose students to learning that is applicable for college and career readiness. At the STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, attendees will experience this STEM pipeline firsthand. STEM educators at the high school level can participate in hands-on workshops with activities to replicate in their own districts, and gain innovative ideas from peers and exhibitors.  Workshops are relevant, high interest, and easy to replicate. Panel discussions about the STEM pipeline will help focus your passion for STEM education to these pathways. Attendees will learn how to add more STEM classes and activities across the curriculum from presenters who demonstrate applications of science, computer science and robotics, industrial technology, engineering, and math.

An important theme of the high school strand is solving community problems, both in lessons and panels. Each attendee will leave with a new inspiration for involving their communities in STEM education, and knowledge of workforce needs across the nation.    

There is something to meet everyone’s needs in the high school strand offerings.  High school STEM leaders will gain knowledge to support the specialized responsibility they have in their districts to make decisions on curriculum, assessment, professional development, and community outreach. Participants and attendees alike will share their research findings with others in their field, learn what others are doing in STEM leading to new ideas for your learning community, meet like-minded people and find new opportunities to collaborate, and have fun! Attendees are encouraged to make connections with presenters, peers, and exhibitors for future collaboration and advice, and to come up with new ideas to present at next year’s Forum!

The 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, is a unique, focused event that brings together (informal and formal) educators and representatives from exhibiting companies who are interested in, and who have tools and resources to share that will ensure successful implementation of STEM education into our schools and communities. It is intended to provide resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM education, associated outreach programs, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 STEM Forum & Expo
San Francisco, July 24–26

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

On behalf of the entire steering committee for the 8^th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, we invite you to join us from July 24 – 26, 2019, in beautiful San Francisco for the premier, international STEM education professional development event. The 8^th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, is a uniquely focused event that brings together STEM partner organizations to create  a venue for learning and collaboration among pre-K through post-secondary educators, workforce professionals, business and industry leaders, informal educators, policymakers, public and private organizations, and other active participants in STEM education.

As evidence mounts and the need grows for a better prepared and stronger workforce in the STEM fields, so too does the need for quality STEM education that inspires students to pursue coursework in STEM and to take an active role in STEM careers. The STEM pipeline cannot occur until formal educators and our educational partners come together to create relevant, high quality STEM lessons and programs for our students. The STEM Forum & Expo is the place where we can gather and partner with other educators and educational entities to truly create STEM ecosystems that benefits all students at all levels. New teachers of STEM, and even veteran educators, need opportunities to help them effectively integrate the STEM disciplines, learn and use various instructional approaches, network with like-minded educators, and see innovation in action. If you are a novice STEM teacher or have been STEM-ming for years, the STEM Forum & Expo is the event you want to attend!

BUT WE NEED YOU! We are seeking creative, innovative formal and informal educators to share lessons, resources, and effective STEM programs with our attendees.  Educators need to build their skills and competencies in STEM, and they need resources that they can take back to their schools and inspire students to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Each of us has a lesson, strategy, or program that we can share that would help to inspire another educator and influence the STEM learning of students across the world. We just need to take a leap and get out of our comfort zone of only presenting to students.

I hope to see you next summer in San Francisco for the STEM Forum & Expo. It will be a fantastic experience for all.

The 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, is a unique, focused event that brings together (informal and formal) educators and representatives from exhibiting companies who are interested in, and who have tools and resources to share that will ensure successful implementation of STEM education into our schools and communities. It is intended to provide resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM education, associated outreach programs, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 National Conference
St. Louis, April 11–14

2019 STEM Forum & Expo
San Francisco, July 24–26

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

What is the best way to introduce science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through literacy lessons in kindergarten?
—Y., New Mexico

To young children education is a single entity—they don’t make distinctions between disciplines until adults get involved! I think teachers of young children can easily capitalize on their innate curiosity and willingness to experiment to incorporate science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or any combination of them into almost any other activity.

A wonderful way to integrate the subjects is through solving engineering problems. Many excellent children’s books include all manner of scientific phenomena and topics. Check out NSTA’s Learning Center for dozens of ideas for kindergarten. NSTA’s Picture Perfect series provides amazing resources to use with some popular children’s books.

For example, after reading a story about birds a simple activity like, “Let’s build a bird’s nest” can inspire young students to think hard as they experiment with materials to keep eggs safe. Use the engineering design process to get students to analyze their creations and propose improvements. Reporting on what they have tried, their conclusions about different materials, and a description of the design they ended up with will be a excellent ways to teach communication, physical properties, measurement, gathering data, research, drawing, and more. They can compare their crafted items with real bird nests and propose why they are the same or different. Along this journey they communicate with their team members, learn new vocabulary, and work on fine-motor skills.

Hope this helps! 

Image by stokpic on Pixabay

Envision a room filled with noise, excited whispers, and students shouting across tables. Piles of tinfoil, plastic cups, scissors, string, and tape are scattered around the room. Paper, pencils, and notebooks filled with sketches are strewn across groups of desks. The lingering scent of melting chocolate pervades the room, as does an electric feeling of excitement among students.

This room may seem chaotic, but actually, it represents the best learning. If you were to ask students what is happening, they would describe their goal: to create a wrapper that would prevent a chocolate bar from melting. They would outline their plan and materials list, and discuss the revisions they made after collaborating with their tablemates. The students have spent weeks investigating how different substances react to heat and cold and testing different materials, which has given them content knowledge about changes in matter and the skills to design, test, and redesign a wrapper that even Hershey’s would envy.

What student wouldn’t be excited to have this activity be part of their school day? What teacher wouldn’t want to provide this type of lasting learning experience for his or her students?

How could a teacher accomplish this? The answer is both simple and complex. Simply doing science is easy; it’s something that teachers do already. But helping students learn science using the three dimensions as recommended in the Next Generation Science Standards requires more thought and planning. The standards include disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science practices, and students need to be able to access all three. But where to start?

Getting involved with science is the access point for all students, including both English language learners and those who already are proficient in English. To give students access to language, we need to build on experience. In many cases, children are not interacting with the world, so teachers need to provide these experiences. Choosing a phenomenon that is familiar to students is vital in giving them an authentic learning experience.

Starting here will spark students’ interest and increase their engagement with the work, as well as foster their independence while doing it. This connection gives students a foundation on which they can build language skills and develop ideas. Beginning this process of inquiry allows students time to use their home language as they converse with their peers, sketch and label their thoughts, and write questions. Not only are these skills critical for every learner, but they are also part of the English Language Proficiency standards (ELPs). Students are using the inquiry skills developed through the science and engineering practices to make sense of and understand the phenomenon, and therefore understand their world more deeply.

Students will develop a deeper understanding of the phenomenon as they ask questions and make observations, but they will have to show their thinking. Modeling is a scientific practice that offers an ideal entry point for building language around student thought. Students of any ability level can use their sketches and language to describe what they believe is happening with the phenomenon. This is the perfect opportunity to scaffold to add language to the students’ work. Students add language to their ideas, rather than  struggling to formulate an idea around a foreign language.

This offers students an invaluable learning experience that validates their ideas and empowers them to learn more. It gives students a solid understanding and allows them to believe they can and want to use the language developed. They take pride in their discoveries and pleasure in being able to describe their model to their peers, instead of being fearful and not fully understanding.

Many students who have English as a second language lack the confidence to share their thinking with peers. With the gradual growth of their ideas through experiencing the phenomenon, modeling and revising it, and working with partners and groups, students are much better prepared to discuss their thinking. By the time they have synthesized their learning, they have practiced many different ways to show their thinking and express their ideas, and are much more confident and willing to share their ideas and reasoning with their peers.

Bringing science into the classroom creates a community of diligent workers and communicators. Students work harder because they are interested, engaged, and active. Students share more because they have multiple opportunities to access the academic vocabulary and practice it through investigations and partner and class discussions. The science practices are not just best practices for English Language Learners, they are also best practices for all learners.

Kayla Jury is a second grade teacher and professional development leader in the Beaverton (OR) School District. She has a Master’s of Science Education and is a Certified Science Instructional Specialist. Alongside a team of colleagues in Beaverton School District, Kayla has created a Next Generation Science based curriculum for the primary grades. She strives each day to provide integrated inquiry curriculum that is authentic and matters to all of her students. 

Note: This article was featured in the March issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction.  Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 National Conference

• St. Louis, April 11-14, 2019

STEM Forum & Expo

• San Francisco, July 24–26, 2019

2019 Fall Conferences

• Salt Lake City,  Oct. 24–26, 2019
• Cincinnati, Nov. 14–16, 2019
• Seattle, Dec. 12–14, 2019

Follow NSTA

The release of the report English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives (shortened to “the report” hereafter) (NASEM 2018) is timely, as three emerging forces shape the changing landscape of K–12 science education. First, demographics of the nation’s student population are rapidly changing, including the fast-growing subpopulation of English Learners (ELs). Second, A Framework for K–12 Science Education (NRC 2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead States 2013) are both academically rigorous and language intensive. Third, computer science, including computational thinking, is becoming increasingly important for all students.

I will describe two key domains the report highlights: contemporary views on language and STEM subjects with ELs, and contemporary instructional approaches compared to traditional instructional approaches with ELs. Based on these two key domains, the report contains promising instructional strategies (see Chapter 4).

Contemporary Views on Language and STEM Subjects With English Learners

Recently, parallel shifts in STEM subjects and second language acquisition have occurred. In STEM subjects, contemporary views emphasize that students make sense of phenomena and problems in the classroom community (knowledge-in-use), while traditional views have focused on individual learners’ mastery of discrete elements of content. In second language acquisition, contemporary views emphasize that language is a set of meaning-making practices learned through participation in social contexts (language-in-use), but traditional views have focused on discrete elements of vocabulary (lexicon) and grammar (syntax) to be internalized by learners. Recognizing these instructional shifts as mutually supportive can promote rigorous STEM learning and rich language use with all students, including ELs. When ELs are engaged in STEM disciplinary practices in which STEM experts and professionals regularly engage (e.g., developing models, arguing from evidence, constructing explanations), ELs learn STEM subjects and language simultaneously.

As ELs learn STEM subjects while engaging in disciplinary practices, they use language to make meaning through social interactions with peers and the teacher in the classroom community. ELs use language and other meaning-making resources purposefully in the service of “doing” and communicating ideas about STEM subjects (Lee et al. 2013). ELs can communicate their ideas using less-than-perfect English.

Contemporary Instructional Approaches Compared to Traditional Instructional Approaches With English Learners

With its charge to reimagine instructional approaches to promote STEM learning and language learning with ELs, the report compares contemporary instructional approaches to traditional instructional approaches. First, it is a misconception that disciplinary vocabulary is disciplinary language. While contemporary approaches recognize that disciplinary vocabulary is one key feature of disciplinary language when the vocabulary is used in context, language in STEM subjects extends way beyond vocabulary. In STEM classrooms, ELs use language to engage in disciplinary practices and communicate disciplinary meaning. Through this engagement, ELs learn language as a product.

Second, a misconception exists that a certain level of English proficiency is a precursor or prerequisite to meaningfully engaging in STEM learning. This misconception has led to pre-teaching and frontloading of vocabulary. Instead, contemporary approaches highlight the functional use of language in social interactions and view language as a product, not a precursor or prerequisite.

Third, in content-based language teaching, which has been common practice until recently, EL teachers are asked to develop “content objectives” and “language objectives.” Typical language objectives focus on grammatical forms (past tense) or only on a particular function out of context (“compare. . . .”). Instead, contemporary approaches highlight using language while engaging in STEM disciplinary practices and learning language as a product.

Finally, sheltered instruction with ELs often provides highly simplified content that seldom satisfies grade-level content expectations. This approach fails to meet the goal of content standards that are expected of all students, including ELs. In addition, simplification of language can have unintended consequences for ELs. For example, as cause-and-effect is a crosscutting concept across STEM subjects, shortening a sentence by eliminating words that establish a causal relationship (e.g., because, therefore) can actually make it more difficult for ELs to understand disciplinary content. Contemporary approaches highlight amplifying language to support and challenge ELs with academically rigorous content.

The report will become more critical as emerging forces continue to shape the changing landscape of K–12 science education in the coming years. Today, there is consensus in science education on what counts as science and how children learn science. Moreover, the science education community’s contemporary view of science teaching and learning offers language-learning opportunities to and holds equitable expectations of all students, including ELs. The other two articles in this issue provide classroom examples that promote both science and language learning with ELs at the elementary and high school levels.

Okhee Lee is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. She was a member of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) writing team and served as leader for the NGSS Diversity and Equity Team. She was also a member of the Steering Committee for the Understanding Language Initiative at Stanford University. She is currently leading collaborative research to develop instructional materials aligned with the NGSS in order to promote science learning and language learning of elementary students, including English learners.

References

Lee, O., H. Quinn, and G. Valdés. 2013. Science and language for English language learners in relation to Next Generation Science Standards and with implications for Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. Educational Researcher 42(4): 223–233.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). 2018. English learners in STEM subjects: Transforming classrooms, schools, and lives. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2012. A framework for K–12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Note: This article was featured in the March issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction.  Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

2019 National Conference

• St. Louis, April 11-14, 2019

STEM Forum & Expo

• San Francisco, July 24–26, 2019

2019 Fall Conferences

• Salt Lake City,  Oct. 24–26, 2019
• Cincinnati, Nov. 14–16, 2019
• Seattle, Dec. 12–14, 2019

Follow NSTA

Accidents in the lab involving electricity can produce fire, smoke, electrocutions, and explosions. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “electrical equipment shall be free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.” This blog post describes the steps teachers must take to prevent such hazards from arising in their science classrooms and laboratories.

Preventing electric shock and electrocution

Unfortunately, many people believe circuit breakers protect lab occupants. In fact, circuit breakers only protect the science labs and building, not the teachers or students. Breakers are designed to prevent electrical fires by shutting off the electrical flow if too much electricity tries to move through the circuit’s wires. An excessive amount of electricity coupled with resistance may lead to a fire.

The human body is a poor conductor of electricity. Even so, if a person were to come in contact with a wet surface and an electric current of as little as one-fifth of an amp, then that person could receive a harmful shock. Installing a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) in the lab can protect students and teachers from electric shock and electrocution. This device constantly compares current flowing from the hot wire to the neutral wire. If the GFCI senses an imbalance of approximately 5 milliamps in the current flow, the current will stop flowing in less than a second.

However, there are two safety issues with GFCIs that need to be addressed. First of all, if these electrical devices are not maintained, they may corrode and not function properly. Preventative maintenance can avoid this situation. This can easily be done by flipping the breaker several times every month or two. Inform the school of this maintenance to ensure that computers or other technologies are not being used when flipping the breaker.

Second, the GFCI does not protect the individuals from a line-to-line contact hazard, which happens when a person holds two hot wires or a hot and a neutral wire at the same time. This could happen if a student has his or her fingers on the metal prongs of the plug when pushing it into the wall receptacle. Students and teachers need to be made aware of this danger in safety training workshops at the beginning of the school year before doing work in the laboratory.

Meeting legal safety standards

There are a number of electrical safety protocols that need to be addressed. According to the OSHA, potential exposures to electrical hazards may result from faulty electrical equipment/instrumentation or wiring, damaged receptacles and connectors, or unsafe work practices. OSHA suggests the following best practices to avoid such hazards:

• Always follow manufacturer’s recommendations for using electrical equipment. Do not use electrical equipment to perform a task for which it is not designed.
• Most equipment includes either a three-pronged plug or double insulation. Equipment without these features is less safe, but may meet electrical codes. You will not be protected from electric shock unless you are using a three-pronged plug that is plugged into a three-prong outlet.
• If you plug more than two pieces of low demand equipment into a standard outlet, use a fused power strip that will shut off if too much power is used.
• Make sure that any outlet near a sink or other water source is GFCI protected. If you have a GFCI, periodically test it by plugging something into it and pushing the “test” button. Once the equipment shuts off, just turn it (the GFCI or the equipment?) back on.
• Above all, do not disable any electrical safety feature such as removing a ground prong on a three-prong plug.
• Before turning equipment on, check that all power cords are in good condition.
• Do not use extension cords as a substitute for permanent wiring.
• If you see a person being electrocuted, do not touch the person. Turn off the power (pull the plug or trip the circuit breaker), or use an item made of non-conductive material (e.g., wooden broom handle) to pry the person away from the contact. Call 911 immediately.

Conclusion

Teachers and their supervisors involved with renovations or new science laboratory facilities need to ensure that such electrical protection is provided. Existing laboratory facilities should also have such protection for teachers and students. If concerned about electrical standards and protocols being met, contact your building administrator and request an electrical inspection.

Submit questions regarding safety to Ken Roy at safersci@gmail.com or leave him a comment below. Follow Ken Roy on Twitter: @drroysafersci.

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President Trump submitted his budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 programs last week and, as expected, discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education would be cut significantly for FY20 programs that would begin this October. 

The President is requesting $62 billion for the Education Department for FY2020 fiscal year — a 12 percent reduction when compared with current funding.  He proposes to eliminate funding for 29 education programs, including funding for ESSA Title IVA Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants ($1.17 billion); Title II-Supporting Effective Instruction state grants ($2.1 billion); 21st Century Community Learning Centers ($1.2 billion). Title I funding and funding for IDEA (special education grants) would be level-funded.

This is the third year that the Administration has sought to cut ED’s budget. Fortunately, thanks to continued advocacy and voices from education community, Congress has repeatedly denied the Administration these cuts in funding.  As you will recall, Congress raised Title IV spending from $400 million to $1.1 billion in FY2018.

The FY20 budget request also includes a 10-year school choice program (Education Freedom Scholarships) that would create up to $5 billion a year in new tax credits for individuals and businesses that donate to scholarships that help students pay private school tuition or other education expenses

According to the Department of Education, the budget request also contains $300 million for Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants, a $170 million increase from fiscal 2019. Of this amount, $200 million would be used for demonstration projects to “improve the quality and effectiveness of classroom instruction by empowering teachers to select their own professional development activities” and $100 million would be used for field-initiated projects that would promote innovation and reform in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, including computer science.

The Administration is also requesting $200 million for Teacher and School Leader Incentive Grants that would “help develop, implement, improve, or expand human capital management systems or performance-based compensation systems. New awards would support mentoring or residencies for novice teachers or increased compensation for effective teachers, particularly in high-need fields and subjects, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

In a statement Education Secretary DeVos said “this budget at its core is about education freedom — freedom for America’s students to pursue their life-long learning journeys in the ways and places that work best for them, freedom for teachers to develop their talents and pursue their passions and freedom from the top-down ‘Washington knows best’ approach that has proven ineffective and even harmful to students.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate education committee, responded by saying “Secretary DeVos is proposing gutting investments in students, teachers, public schools, and even school safety—all to make room for her extreme privatization proposal that no one asked for. This is not a serious budget proposal, and I am going to once again work with Republicans in Congress to ensure every student has access to a quality public education in their neighborhood.”

In a statement the Title IVA Coalition (NSTA is on the board of this Coalition) said,

 “For the third year in a row, we are deeply disappointed by the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal to eliminate funding for the (ESSA Title IVA)  SSAE grant program despite districts finally being able to make use of these funds in a flexible and meaningful way to support students. The SSAE grant program under Title IV-A of ESSA is a flexible block grant that is designed to provide support for much needed student health and safety programs, well-rounded education programs, and the effective use of education technology.

“The Administration’s decision to zero out funding for this program—just as districts are utilizing the $1.1 billion Congress provided in FY18 and before the Department of Education has done any data collection on how states and districts are using these funds to support critical school and student needs—shows a complete lack of commitment to the success of the program.

“We find it contradictory of the Administration and the Secretary to routinely highlight the value of SSAE block grant by pointing to the value of the program in its reports (most recently, the Federal Commission on School Safety highlighted this program as a way of improving social emotional learning, school climate, and student safety) and speaking publicly about the flexibility and local control this program offers to districts to use funds based on their unique needs—but continuously call for the complete elimination of funding. Proposing no funding for the SSAE program for FY2020 reiterates the message this Administration continues sending to public schools: that it does not value investments in programs that make students safer at school, improve school climate, provide access to courses like AP, computer science, STEM, CTE, music and the arts, PE, or ensuring educators are prepared to use technology for blended and digital learning.

“Defunding the SSAE program stands in stark contrast with the will of Congress, which recognizes the value of this investment, and we are thankful for the $1.1 billion in FY18 and $1.17 billion in FY19 appropriated over the last two years. In order to give districts the opportunity to continue making effective use of these funds to improve the lives of students, we sincerely urge Congress to fund the SSAE grant program at its authorized level of $1.6 billion.”

Read more here and here.

Dems File Resolution that No Federal Funds Be Used to Train or Arm Teachers

Last week  Democratic lawmakers in both the Senate and House, including teacher U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (CT-5),  introduced a resolution, S. Res. 110 (116), to “clarify” that the Department of Education cannot allow school districts to use federal funds to train or arm teachers with firearms.  Specifically, the resolution says that the funding under Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act can only be used for policies that will lead to weapons-free schools.

Watch the press conference here.

STEM for Girls

And finally, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would create and expand upon STEM education initiatives at the National Science Foundation for young children, including new research grants to increase the participation of girls in computer science.  Read more about the Building Blocks of STEM Act.

Stay tuned, and watch for more updates in future issues of NSTA Express.

Jodi Peterson is the Assistant Executive Director of Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. Reach her via e-mail at jpeterson@nsta.org or via Twitter at @stemedadvocate.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

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