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Building a Presence for Science in Arizona

On October 1, 2002, Arizona became the twenty-third state to join the Building a Presence for Science (BaP) network established by the National Science Teachers Association and the ExxonMobil Foundation.

The Arizona Science Teachers Association is coordinating our state’s program. In 2003, ASTA hosted ceremonies to officially launch its program at our statewide conference. Over 300 science educators attended the launch events at the Centennial Conference Center in Mesa, Arizona. The goals of the program are to:

1. Identify a Point of Contact for standards-based science teaching and learning in every school in Arizona
2. Establish an electronic network of science educators
3. Create an infrastructure of national and state partners who are advocates for effective science teaching and learning
   

State coordinators for the program offered two workshops for Arizona science educators expressing an interest in becoming a Key Leader. The first session, in April, was made possible through a partnership with the AzTEC Program staff directed by Dr. Jim Middleton and hosted in a technology lab/classroom in the Physical Sciences Building on the campus of Arizona State University. The second Key Leader professional development session was held in the computer lab facilities of the Hoyt Building on the Signal Peak campus of Central Arizona College in Coolidge. This site was offered by staff from NASA’s Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) program. Arizona now has 50 Key Leaders who are working to establish a growing network of science educators in our state.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this exciting program, please visit Building a Presence for Science online at www.nsta.org/bap and sign up to become a point of contact for your school. You will begin receiving electronic updates from NSTA and important information about science education in Arizona as well as information about professional development opportunities. As a point of contact, you are asked to share these updates with your colleagues and advocate for standards-based science education in Arizona’s classrooms.

BaP sessions are also planned each year for the annual ASTA fall conference. Be sure to attend these sessions to find out more about the program. If you prefer not to wait until the conference, please contact  Jackie Menasco (Jackie.Menasco@nau.edu ).