With New Urgency, We Focus on Science Literacy & Equity
May 2020
The biggest story in the news right now is a science story. Everyone needs basic scientific literacy in order to stay safe, understand, and respond to our rapidly changing world. It’s more important than ever that teachers — facing even greater challenges than before — have strong support so they can engage children in meaningful science learning.
This moment of crisis also provides a unique opportunity to shine a bright light on creative, dedicated scientists and engineers working in vital STEM careers. An entire generation of children are being inspired by these people who are searching for answers and designing solutions that will allow playtime and social interaction to resume again someday. We need to make sure kids have the learning opportunities that will allow them to pursue their own STEM career dreams.
With the support of our donors and partners, CRS is rising to meet this moment. We’re pleased to take a moment to look up from this urgent work and share with you some of the ways CRS has been responding this Spring.
We’re putting curated information and resources in the hands of teachers so that distance teaching and learning continues to include wonder, exploration and discovery for K-8 students.
We’re helping phenomenal scientists and engineers to retool their in-person outreach lessons and mentoring so that kids can continue to see and interact with them in online virtual lessons, and through videos they can view at home with families.
And, we’re continuing to be a leading voice in the Bay Area science education community, advocating for initiatives to close the digital divide and ensure that science remains a core priority for K-12 education in the face of budgetary challenges to come.
As the current school year wraps up, CRS is already working with partner organizations, Advisory Council members, district leaders, and colleagues around the state and across the country to anticipate and prepare for the needs of teachers and students when the school doors — virtual or physical — re-open this Fall.
A new urgency infuses our longstanding commitment to ensuring that all children, particularly those in underserved and under-represented communities, have access to learning experiences that help them build an understanding of their world and envision their own future roles in discovering and designing solutions to challenges facing society.
