With Gratitude

June is a perfect time to celebrate all of the accomplishments over the year. As you head into the summer months, we hope you take time to reflect, reconnect and care for yourselves. Thank you for supporting your school community and each and every student!

Elementary Science Education Resources

In late May, ODE released Oregon's Early Literacy Framework to provide coherence, clarity and common ground for high-quality, comprehensive early literacy education statewide. Below are some elementary-focused resources that support both the statewide literacy vision and science education:

• Using Science to Bolster Literacy Skills in Elementary Education - This resource explores opportunities for teaching literacy by increasing interdisciplinary connections between science and literacy.
• Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators - This interactive overview takes a comprehensive look at the assets children, communities, and educators bring to elementary classrooms in service of equity and justice. The full report also elevates the deep connections to literacy practices through local context and phenomena.
• Science in Elementary Classrooms for Oregon Administrators - This self-guided course is designed to guide administrators, particularly those in K-5 schools, in thinking about science education in their buildings and to provide background on and fundamentals regarding the Oregon Science Standards.
• What does subject matter integration look like in elementary instruction? Including science is key! - This resource leverages students’ natural curiosity and builds strong knowledge-bases in other content areas.
• K-5 Elementary Storylines - This website provides examples of lessons that are driven by students' questions and building skills to explain their thinking and understanding of phenomena.
• Engaging English Learners in the Science and Engineering Practices - This tool explores how science learning supports language development and how to leverage students' interests and identities. 
• NGSS Bundled Topics in Elementary - Bundling is a helpful step in implementing standards as it can support coherence and connections between concepts and topics. This resource provides guidance on how to group standards in K-5.

Science Teaching and Learning Resources

The following list highlights science articles, resources, professional learning opportunities, and free tools and materials:

• The Oregon Educators for Climate Education (OECE) and SubjectToClimate are seeking retired and current educators to join the Oregon Climate Teacher Institute between July - August 2023. This time will be focused on creating classroom lessons that integrate climate change education across all grade levels and subjects. These lessons will be used as exemplars for other educators looking to integrate climate change education with intention across K-12 classrooms. Lessons will be openly available on the Oregon Climate Education Hub and authors will be recognized for their work. For additional information and requirements, please visit the Oregon Climate Teacher Institute resource page. If you are interested in learning more on how to integrate climate change education into classrooms, please sign up here to join the virtual four-day training (July 24-28).
• Portland Metro STEM Partnership is excited to announce that registration is open for the High School Science for All: the Patterns Approach courses for this summer! The five-day summer courses on the High School Science for All curriculum: NGSS Physics, NGSS Chemistry, and NGSS Biology will occur during the first three weeks of August. The courses provide a great foundation for teachers interested in utilizing the open source curriculum and associated instruction strategies. All summer virtual and in-person workshops are FREE of CHARGE to any Oregon teacher or resident via the ODE WRAP (Well-Rounded Access Program) grant. Additional questions can be directed to: Susan Holveck (PMSP), Kristen Harrison (PMSP), or David Melville (GOSTEM).
• Think globally, act locally: Promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through community-centered learning is a new STEM Teaching tool that provides guidance on how the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — global goals to make the world a better place for all — can be used to focus science instruction on meaningful local and global phenomena.
• The ESCOLAR project created and implemented by the University of Oregon College of Education’s Center for Equity Promotion (CEQP) is inviting teachers to take part in a study to improve online science instruction for upper elementary school. This opportunity is open to 3 - 5th grade educators in the 2023 - 2024 school year. Participants will receive a $500 stipend. To see sample units, log in as a guest with “Escolarguest” as the username and “guest” as the password. To learn more or register in this project, please contact Fatima Terraza Arellanes, UO Associate Director or Center for Equity Promotion.

• Science Instructional Materials Selection and Modification: A Landscape Analysis from NexGenScience was recently released to provide district leaders, school leaders, and classroom teachers with factors that affect instructional materials adoptions.
• The SunRISE team at the University of Michigan College of Engineering will sponsor free of charge to high schools the deployment of a Radio JOVE dual-dipole antenna. The required deployment area is 1,200 ft2 and training will be provided to the host high school staff and student teams. This opportunity will provide opportunities for students and their community to contribute to research alongside NASA. Please send questions to Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti.
• The Oregon Science Teachers Association Annual Conference is Saturday, October 14th, 2023 at Ridgeview High School, Redmond, Oregon. For additional conference information and session proposals, please visit the OSTA conference webpage.  

ODE - Job Announcement

The Oregon Department of Education is currently seeking a Health Sciences Education Specialist. This is a permanent, full time position within the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. Please note, the application deadline is Tuesday, July 4th.

What does a Health Education Specialist do?

As the Health Education Specialist, you will have the opportunity to:

• Develop and maintain curriculum standards and assessment practices for CTE Programs of Study in the Health Sciences career area.
• Collaborate with ODE’s internal offices and serve as ODE’s liaison and consultant to the Health Sciences Career Area student leadership organizations to align and integrate efforts around college and career readiness, diploma requirements, and the Oregon Skill Sets
• Contribute to the building and implementation of CTE State Plan Implementation

Additional employment information and application can be found on the Oregon Department of Education Career webpage.

Thank you.

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