Super Star Teachers

Educator Spotlights

You’ve seen the images:

A phenomenal soccer player scores a winning goal on the international stage, and she takes a triumphant pose seen round the world.
A football player scores the winning touchdown and does a happy dance.
A basketball player makes a flying dunk and lands with muscles flexed in celebration.

You’ve seen the images:

· A phenomenal soccer player scores a winning goal on the international stage, and she takes a triumphant pose seen round the world. · A football player scores the winning touchdown and does a happy dance. · A basketball player makes a flying dunk and lands with muscles flexed in celebration.

Imagine:

· A 2^nd grade teacher adopting the same triumphant pose after a fidgety student successfully uses the data she’s collected about temperatures around the school yard to determine the best location for a new school garden.

· A 4^th grade teacher spikes the whiteboard eraser in celebration of a group of students successfully sketching a model that explains the interdependence of plants and animals in a specific ecosystem. · A 7^th grade teacher flexing her muscles after a group of students successfully makes a presentation to the school board with recommendations for steps the district can take to reduce it’s carbon footprint AND save money by adopting specific energy saving measures. Teachers, as a bunch, don’t often get the chance for big displays to celebrate their accomplishments in moving their students to greater understanding of and engagement in their world. But, if they did, we’d see fireworks every day! That's why we think the Science Super Star Challenge offers an important but too rare opportunity to hold up those teachers who are striving to ensure their students have access to science and engineering lessons that allow them to wonder, explore and discover. Students of today will need strong scientific literacy for the jobs and civic duties of their future; it is critical for equity and social justice that science role models and learning experiences reach all children from the earliest years. Teachers modestly insist they are not Super Stars, but we know they shine bright as examples of what is possible, and we salute them for their amazing efforts!

The mission of CRS is to empower teachers and STEM professionals serving schools in historically marginalized communities to activate TK-8 students’ curiosity about the world, foster critical thinking, and inspire children to imagine future career pathways. We envision a community of educators, scientists, families and partners working together to build school cultures that equip all children to explore the world around them and build the skills needed to become innovators, problem solvers, environmental stewards, life-long learners and leaders. CRS leads a dynamic network, fostering relationships and collaborations that leverage expertise and resources to transform science teaching and learning toward greater equity, opportunity, and success for all students.

Our goal is simple: help teachers give students more opportunities to “do science” – to ask questions, test ideas, get their hands on real science activities. We need to inspire the next generation of thinkers, makers, problem solvers, and leaders!