This week in education news, 12 Texas students injured in outdoor science experiment involving fire; student misconceptions about the teaching profession, as well as a lack of discussion on the part of professors, contribute to the current shortage of STEM teachers; President Trump’s new budget proposal would boost school choice; and according to NCTQ’s new report only 16 teacher prep programs ranked as top tier.

12 Texas Preschoolers Hurt In Blast From Color-Changing Fire Experiment Gone Wrong

An outdoor science experiment involving fire at a Texas Presbyterian preschool went terribly wrong Tuesday, injuring 12 students — six of whom were transported to a hospital with burns. A group of preschoolers were gathered outside to watch a teacher change the color of fire using different chemicals. The teacher mixed boric acid with methanol and tried to light it on fire. Nothing happened, so the teacher added more alcohol and lit the mixture again. Then there was an explosion. Click here to read the article featured in the Washington Post.

Teachers Speak: What PD Actually Works?

Even with the best technology in the world, there is one key element that determines student success: a high-quality, highly-effective teacher. In fact, some research estimates that teachers can impact students’ lifetime earnings by 10 to 20 percent, which can increase the U.S. gross domestic product by tens of trillions of dollars. And professional development (PD) is critical in helping teachers as they continue to hone their skills and evolve as educators. But what kind of PD is most effective, and does the kind of PD that helps teachers best change as teachers become more experienced? Click here to read the article featured in eSchool News.

Best Time To Build A Love Of STEM? It’s After The School Day Ends, Research Says

After-school programs can help students develop an interest in science, technology, engineering or math. In a national survey last year, more than 78 percent of children said they’d had a positive experience with the STEM subject areas because of an after-school program, according to new research from the PEAR Institute at Harvard University, McLean Hospital and IMMAP: Institute for Measurement, Methodology, Analysis and Policy at Texas Tech University. The survey included 1,600 children and after-school program leaders in 11 states. Click here to read the article featured in The Hechinger Report.

We Need More STEM Teachers; Higher Ed. Can Help

America’s colleges and universities have fallen short for decades in providing K-12 schools with teachers, particularly secondary school teachers, in the high-need STEM fields of physics, chemistry, math, and computer science. These shortages continue to have an impact on the quality of STEM education with the ripple effect of discouraging young students from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math themselves. Click here to read the article featured in Education Week.

Trump Budget Proposal Would Boost School Choice

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 spending proposal would ax the Department of Education budget by $9 billion while pouring an additional $1.4 billion into school choice programs. The blueprint offers the first concrete insight into the administration’s education policy priorities and would make good on the Trump team’s goals of shrinking the federal government and helping students in failing schools by allowing them to attend the school of their choice, public or private. Click here to read the article featured in U.S. News & World Report.

Classroom Gaming Should Be Engaging, Tied To Curriculum – And Not Require Teachers To Code

It’s one thing when master teachers successfully implement learning games in a carefully controlled research study. But engaging students through game-based learning (GBL) means little unless the games are easy to implement and effective where they matter most—in the classroom. For district leaders, teachers, and edgame developers, this involves an ongoing balancing act of engagement, pragmatic learning and in-class application. Click here to read the article featured in EdSurge.

New Science Standards Deliver Students From Textbooks To ‘Real-world Applications

A new wave of teaching science is taking shape at Kittatinny Regional High School and its sending districts, steering students away from learning about facts from a textbook and into learning real-world applications of science, complete with hands-on experiments and big-picture concepts. Adopted by the New Jersey Board of Education in 2014, the Next Generation Science Standards are state mandated for K-12, and according to the New Jersey Department of Education’s Science Coordinator Michael Heinz, the standards shift a student’s thought process to “how things happen, why things happen and how the world works. Click here to read the article featured in the New Jersey Herald.

Only 16 Teacher Prep Programs Ranked As ‘Top Tier’ In New Report

Lesser-known Hope College in Holland, MI; Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN; Messiah College in Grantham, PA; and St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN surface on a shortlist of the best undergraduate programs for preparing high school teachers, alongside Arizona State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota. What puts them there? According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, each has “solid admission standards, provide sufficient preparation in each candidate’s intended subject area and show them how best to teach that subject.” Many also do well in teaching future teachers how to manage a classroom and in providing high quality practice opportunities. Click here to read the article featured in Campus Technology.

Stay tuned for next week’s top education news stories.

The Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs (CLPA) team strives to keep NSTA members, teachers, science education leaders, and the general public informed about NSTA programs, products, and services and key science education issues and legislation. In the association’s role as the national voice for science education, its CLPA team actively promotes NSTA’s positions on science education issues and communicates key NSTA messages to essential audiences.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

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President Trump’s budget is not expected out until Tuesday, May 23, but the Washington Post is reporting that the Administration is planning massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, and is proposing  that another $1 billion be provided for school choice programs. (In related news, Secretary DeVos is expected to unveil the Administration’s school choice plan during a speech on Monday, May 22.)

As expected, the budget would also eliminate funding for Title IV-A, the ESSA block grant that would target funds to every state and district. The Washington Post states, “The Trump administration would dedicate no money to a fund for student support and academic enrichment that is meant to help schools pay for, among other things, mental-health services, anti-bullying initiatives, physical education, Advanced Placement courses and science and engineering instruction. Congress created the fund, which totals $400 million this fiscal year, by rolling together several smaller programs. Lawmakers authorized as much as $1.65 billion, but the administration’s budget for it in the next fiscal year is zero.”

This block grant was championed by Republicans during reauthorization of ESSA after they eliminated the Math and Science Partnership program and other smaller targeted grants.  More about the programs the Administration plans to eliminate here and about Title IVA and STEM here.

The Administration’s skinny budget for FY2018, released earlier this spring, eliminates Title II professional development and class size reduction funds, and 21^st Century Learning Programs (afterschool programs).

It is important to keep in mind that Congress is responsible for passing appropriations laws. As the Post article points out, “Asked for comment, a spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, referred to Alexander’s response in March to the release of Trump’s budget outline. That statement emphasized that while the president may suggest a budget, “under the Constitution, Congress passes appropriations bills.”

The FY2017 budget passed last month provides $400 million the ESSA Title IV, far less than the $1.65 billion that Congressional authorizers requested for the program. Since this is not enough funding for all districts to receive funding for FY2017 only states have the flexibility to distribute the funds to districts competitively rather than by formula.  Learn more about Title IV during this webinar on May 24.

Stay tuned.

Business Invests in Professional Learning. Why Doesn’t Education?

An Education Week commentary written by ASCD Executive Director Deborah S. Delisle argues why cutting professional learning funds for teachers is shortsighted. Read it here.

House Committee Approves Career and Technical Ed Legislation

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353) updates federal CTE policies to help more students gain the knowledge and skills they need to compete for in-demand jobs. The proposal is largely identical to legislation the House of Representatives passed in September 2016.

Stay tuned, and watch for more updates in future issues of NSTA Express.

Jodi Peterson is the Assistant Executive Director of Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. Reach her via e-mail at jpeterson@nsta.org or via Twitter at @stemedadvocate.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

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