Win a $100 Airline Voucher for Travel to NSTA's National Conference on Science Education

February 9, 2015 NSTA Legislative Update: Senate Leaders to Start Over on No Child Left Behind Bill The two leaders of the Senate Education Committee will work together to draft a bipartisan bill to reauthorize No Child Left Behind, instead of working from a discussion draft bill introduced by Committee Chair Lamar Alexander a few weeks ago. And STEM education gets a boost in the budget released by the President last week. Read more. Sponsored by: NSTA and Chevron Partner on Initiative for School and District Administrators With support from Chevron, NSTA is launching a new initiative to support school administrators as they work to strengthen teaching and learning in the STEM subjects. The Chevron-supported NSTA Administrators Initiative will include face-to-face professional development opportunities, coupled with a suite of resources that will build knowledge and understanding of science and engineering practices, a key component of the Next Generation Science Standards.   NSTA will kick off the initiative with a face-to-face workshop for administrators (in conjunction with a broader effort to engage district teams) at the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in Chicago. For more information about the Administrators Initiative, or to register for the March 12 District Administrator Workshop, click here. To read the full press release, click here. Win a $100 Airline Voucher for Travel to NSTA's National Conference on Science Education Enter to win a $100 Southwest Airlines ticket voucher to attend the #NSTA15 Chicago Conference on Science Education, taking place March 12–15. If you're planning to attend, check this out. NSTA and Southwest are giving away 10 vouchers per day through February 15. Celebrate International Book Giving Day With NSTA February 14 is not only Valentine's Day but also International Book Giving Day. Literacy is an important focus for NSTA, and a subject that is personally important to our staff and membership, so we're celebrating! Read more about what we're doing: Download a bookmark, get a free e-book, take a web seminar on science and trade books, find our lists of Outstanding Science Trade Books, and check out a special offer on our NSTA Kids Books. Sponsored by: Congratulations to the New 2015–2016 NSTA Board and Council Members The voting results are in, and it's official. Congratulations to the outstanding science educators listed below who will become members of the 2015–2016 NSTA Council and Board of Directors beginning June 1! (Look for the official press release on the new NSTA Board and Council in late May.)   Board: Mary Gromko, President-Elect; Jennifer S. Thompson, Preschool/Elementary Division; Kenneth L. Huff, Middle Level Division; Dennis Schatz, Informal Science Division; Eric Brunsell, Professional Development Division.   Council: Doug Hodum, District II Director; Mary L. Loesing, District IV Director; Dennis Alan Casey, District VIII Director; Shannon Hudson, District X Director; Jennifer Gutierrez, District XIV Director; Camille T. Stegman, District XVI Director. Become a Volunteer Virtual Judge with eCYBERMISSION eCYBERMISSION, a web-based STEM competition for students in grades 6–9, is seeking dedicated individuals—teachers, college students, parents, community leaders, business leaders, and anyone else with a background or interest in STEM—to serve as virtual judges and student virtual judges for the program. You can log on at any time from any place to evaluate folders during the judging period, which makes volunteering as a virtual judge for eCYBERMISSION flexible and convenient! Register as a volunteer beforeFebruary 25. Learn more here. Teaching NGSS in Elementary School Web Seminar—Grade Five—February 18 The last in a series of web seminars on teaching the NGSS in elementary grades is slated for February 18, 6:30–8 p.m. ET. Review the general architecture of the NGSS and the specific expectations for fifth grade, then learn how to use the standards to plan curriculum and instruction. Click here to register for the event, or get information on the entire series of web seminars on teachingNGSS in all of the elementary grades. Share Your Thoughts on the Next Generation Science Standards NSTA is seeking widespread input from science educators on resources, professional development, and support that will be needed for successful implementation of the NGSS. We've already heard from hundreds of you, but we want to hear from more! Click herebefore Friday, February 13, to tell us what you think. To show our appreciation, 10 lucky members will win a free volume of theNSTA Quick-Reference Guides to the NGSS. Sponsored by: