Welcome to 2023

Hopefully, you had an opportunity to find time to rest, rejuvenate, and reflect. This is a great opportunity to elevate accomplishments and revisit some select resources that support high quality K-12 science education.

• The State Board of Education adopted the 2022 Oregon Science Standards, which represent K-12 learning expectations in science education for all students and are a foundational expectation of the Oregon Diploma. This incredible work could not have been possible without the input from educators, administrators, and community members along with the Science Standards Review Panel.
• The National Academies: Board on Science Education published a few reports that specifically address a variety of critical topics in science education: A Call to Action (2021),  Taking Stock of Science Implementation Standards (2022), Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators (2022)
• The STEM Teaching Tools site continues to publish co-developed  one-page practice briefs, professional development modules and an entire playlist to support climate change education. All of these resources address a variety of topics in science education and are grounded in promoting educational equity.

Applications Open for 2023 National Youth Science Camp

The National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp) is a free residential honors program for two high school students from each state, Washington, DC, and participating international countries.

The 2023 NYSCamp is scheduled with a hybrid model. The first five days are virtual and the remaining days are in-person in West Virginia. NYSCamp's curriculum includes a broad range of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) topics that incorporates both creative and performing arts, as well as an outdoor adventure series with opportunities for kayaking, overnight backpacking, and more. The delegations also travel to Washington, DC, where they can tour museums and attend a panel discussion held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The deadline for eligible high school student to apply is February 28th, 2023. For more information about eligibility or to apply, please visit the NYSCamp website.

Workshops, Webinars, and Opportunities

• January 18th - March 8th, 2023, CU-Boulder and the Crown Wellness Institute will be offering a free Compassion Cultivation Training for Educators led by Dr. Bill Penuel and Dr. Ashley Potvin. To register or learn more, please visit the CU-Boulder Crown Wellness Institute website.
• January 26th at 3:00 pm PT, NPR Science Friday will be  hosting a conversation with Leila Philip, author of Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America, and special guest and beaver expert Emily Fairfax. You will hear from Leila on what it was like to write about these peculiar animals, learn about Emily's ecohydrology research, and ask your questions to both our guests. To register or receive a recording of the conversation, please visit the SciFri website.
• Winter 2023 Courses through March, Portland Metro STEM Partnership will be hosting professional learning opportunities for the High School Science for All, aka "Patterns" courses (Physics, Chemistry, Biology). Register for these course offerings today.
• Spring 2023 (March 3-5), Smithsonian Science Education Center will be hosting their annual STEM Education Summit: Building a Coalition for Attracting and Retaining a Diverse STEM Teaching Workforce. To learn more about this summit or to register a team, please visit the Smithsonian Science Education Center website.
• Available now, Oregon Open Learning Team is pleased to announce that the Multilingual/English Learner Resource Bank is now available! The resource bank provides easy access to online resources for English learner programs and services, including materials across disciplines such as social studies, health, engineering, language arts, and visual arts.

2022-2023 Science Assessments Available

Oregon’s Interim Assessments in ELA, Math, and Science are now available for the 2022-2023 school year. Schools and districts may administer these assessments to students in-person or remotely. Information and professional learning resources to support test selection, administration, scoring, and data use are available on ODE’s Interim Assessment webpage. 

Contact your District Test Coordinator (DTC) to activate interim assessments. Please contact Andrew Byerley, Math Assessment Specialist, with questions or support needs.

Supporting Gender Expansive Students: Guidance for Schools

This month, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) proudly published Supporting Gender Expansive Students: Guidance for Schools. This guidance is grounded in the recognition, respect, affirmation, friendship, joy, belonging, and safety every human deserves - including the students, staff, and families that make-up our school communities. Gender expansive students are protected under federal and Oregon civil rights laws. School districts have a responsibility to provide a safe and affirming educational environment for all students, including gender expansive students. This updated guidance clarifies new and evolving laws and policies in order to address the diverse needs of a broad range of gender expansive students and the school districts who serve them.

Additional updates and resources such as standards level guidance documents, learning progressions, and crosswalks can be found on the Science Standards page.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Deb Bailey or Kama Almasi, STEM Education Specialists, or Jamie Rumage, Science Education Specialist, if you have any questions or concerns.

If you have other colleagues that are interested in receiving this newsletter, please direct them to this science newsletter registration page.