• Francis Eberle Selected as New Executive Director of NSTA
• Science Teacher Pay Doesn’t Add Up
• “Academic Freedom” Used as Basis of Bills to Question Evolution
• AAAS Announces Professional Development Opportunities for K-12 Science Educators
• Save the Dates for NSTA Fall Conferences
• Connecting Research on Climate Change with Teaching
• Learn It Online, Solidify It in the Field

Francis Eberle Selected as New Executive Director of NSTA

NSTA President John Whitsett and the NSTA Board of Directors are pleased to announce that Francis Eberle, executive director of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA), has been selected as the new NSTA Executive Director. Eberle has taught middle and high school science, served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern Maine, served as president of the Maine Science Teachers Association (MSTA), is active on a number of grant projects, and has served in leadership roles in a variety of state and national organizations. He will begin his new position at NSTA in August.

• Read more about Dr. Francis Eberle

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Science Teacher Pay Doesn't Add Up

The May 14 issue of Education Week includes a commentary on teacher compensation written by NSTA Executive Director Gerry Wheeler. Writes Wheeler, “Teachers play a key role in student achievement, and in today’s competitive marketplace, we absolutely must attract our share of the best and brightest to science teaching. But to do this, two things must happen. First, when we discuss reform, we have to stop ignoring the large green elephant in the room holding the sign saying “TEACHER PAY.” And second, we need to talk specifically about paying science teachers salaries comparable to those of science professionals in the private sector.”

• Read more of Gerry Wheeler’s commentary in the May 14 issue of Education Week

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"Academic Freedom" Used as Basis of Bills to Question Evolution

Legislation seeking to protect the right of educators and students to present critiques of evolution on the basis of “academic freedom” has emerged in at least five states.

• Read more of this Education Week article by reporter Sean Cavanagh (registration required)

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AAAS Announces Professional Development Opportunities for K–12 Science Educators

• Columbus, OH
  July 16–18, 2008, cohosted by COSI, the Center of Science and Industry (COSI)
• Winston-Salem, NC
  September 15–17, 2008, cohosted by SciWorks Museum
• Birmingham, AL
  September 15–17, 2008, cohosted by the McWane Science Center
• Washington, DC
  October 15–17, 2008, hosted by AAAS Project 2061
• San Francisco, CA
  November 5–7, 2008, cohosted by the University of California, San Francisco

• More information
• Scholarships
• About Atlas of Science Literacy
• Cohost a workshop

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Save the Dates for NSTA Fall Conferences

• Charlotte, North Carolina: October 30-November 1
• Portland, Oregon: November 20-22
• Cincinnati, Ohio: December 4-6

This is your opportunity to improve your skills—gain content knowledge, participate in strategic workshops, enjoy special day long programs sponsored by NABT, ACS, and AAPT, network with like-minded professionals, take home ready-to-use lesson plans, collect exhibitor giveaways and much more.

Join us in Charlotte to hear New York Times best-selling author and forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs. Her exciting career ranges from teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab. Reichs has brought her own dramatic work experience to her mesmerizing forensic thrillers.

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Connecting Research on Climate Change with Teaching

NSTA Express readers are invited to examine a free resource for undergraduate geoscience and environmental science AP teachers and learners. "Climate Change and Anthropogenic Greenhouse Warming: A Selection of Key Articles 1824-1995, with Interpretive Essays" has launched as part of the NSF's National Science Digital Library (NSDL). NSDL is a virtual library of select resources organized in support of science and mathematics education, available at no cost, and is a partner with NSTA in delivering monthly Web Seminars.

The collection, the first of NSDL's "Classic Articles in Context" project published through the NSDL Wiki, brings together 21 landmark studies, in full text, selected from the peer reviewed literature. Each study includes a detailed, level-appropriate overview written by noted author and science historian Dr. James Fleming, of Colby College, along with bibliographies of subsequent works citing the classic papers, links to additional materials held by NSDL, and pages for the environmental science community to contribute to the resource through a discussion wiki and an associated blog.

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Learn It Online, Solidify It in the Field

The Teachers in Geosciences program at Mississippi State University provides you with a unique opportunity to earn a Master of Science degree through distance learning. All of the core courses are taught online. The program concludes with an 8- to 10-day capstone field course that is taught during the summer at a variety of locations including Yellowstone/Grand Tetons, Western Washington State, the Sierra, Central Arizona, Upstate NY, Western Lake Superior, the Outer Banks, the Bahamas, and the Great Plains Storm Chase.

Our 12-course, 36-credit hour graduate program is designed to take as little as two years to complete and includes courses in meteorology, geology, planetary science, oceanography, hydrology, and environmental geoscience. Over 300 students from all 50 states and around the world are enrolled. All students qualify for in-state tuition rates.

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And Don’t Forget…

Visit our member services web page to ensure that NSTA has your current contact information.

Visit the NSTA Science Store for an outstanding array of bestselling books and teaching resources. Receive 30% off of the May featured book, Using Forensics: Wildlife Crime Scene!