2023 SCIENCE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Science Education Leadership: A Systems Approach

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

The theme for this year's NSELA Leadership Summit in Atlanta is "Science Education Leadership- A Systems Approach. The goal of a science education system is to provide all students with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, understanding, and skills that they will need to become scientifically literate adults.  Each session will focus on a critical part of the system and how it connects to other parts. The leadership summit will culminate in helping science leaders apply their learning to build their conceptual model of interacting parts of their own science education system and actions they can take to help the parts function effectively.

Register for the 2023 Leadership Summit

   

Apply for the VESELS Award

Are you new to your role in science education leadership? If you or someone you know is a new or emerging science education leader with five years or less experience in their leadership role, consider applying for the 2023 Vernier Emerging Science Education Leadership Scholarship (VESELS).

 

 With the generous support of Vernier, NSELA will award six scholarships to attend the NSELA Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), June 27-29, 2023, in Providence Rhode Island. If selected, VESELS applicants will receive NSELA membership, $500 toward travel expenses, complimentary registration for the SLI, recognition during the SLI, and pairing with a mentor at the SLI and for support throughout the year.

 

 This is an outstanding opportunity for you to professionally grow and receive support from the NSELA community. New leaders do not have to be NSELA members to apply. Please share this outstanding opportunity with leaders new to your district or organization.

Applications will close on Wednesday, February 15.

 

 

Learn More and Apply!

President's Message

Happy New Year from NSELA and one more year to add to the estimated 4.5 billion years of the Earth! Reflecting on 2022, it has been a good year for NSELA. My top ten NSELA highlights for 2022 are (not in any ranked order): 

 

1. Partnerships. Partners are an important component of our NSELA community. They not only lend financial support to our programs, but they also provide additional support for learning, collaboration, networking, and advocacy through their interaction with our membership. NSELA welcomes our new 2023 partners, Argument Driven Inquiry and Brain Pop, and our returning partners, Vernier and Legends of Learning. 

 

2. Executive Committee (EC). NSELA has a highly committed and active Executive Committee (Presidential Chain, Treasurer, and Secretary) overseeing the day-to-day management of NSELA as we face the challenge of transitioning away from our management company. Thanks to the commitment of our volunteer EC, we have been able to pick up several of the unexpected tasks that had previously been relegated to our management company. It’s been a tough, but fulfilling year of learning the nuts and bolts of managing a professional association.

3. Transition Task Force. Expertly led by Pat Shane, recommendations have been brought before the Board to make the transition to an Executive Director and a new Board structure and function. Stay tuned for proposed by-laws changes that will need to be made to enact these recommendations. We hope to have an Executive Director of NSELA in place by June 1. If you are interested in this leadership position, please contact Page Keeley for an application or check our web site.

 

4. Elementary Science. A special focus for the past year and present is leadership support for elementary science. We are especially thankful to NSTA for the opportunity to publish a regular column in the Science and Children Journal on supporting elementary science leadership and include strands at our face-to-face events.

 

5. In Person Professional Learning- Our face-to-face Leadership Summit (LS) and our Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) are back! We are excited to come together as a leadership learning community on March 22nd before the NSTA Conference begins in Atlanta and three days of summer networking and learning in Providence, Rhode Island June 26-29 with our members and partners. These two NSELA flagship events are designed for science leaders led by science leaders. Mark your 2023 calendar!


6. Expanded Memberships. NSELA offered a new membership category this past year that can be combined with your state leadership association. NSELA welcomes the New Jersey Leadership Association (NJSELA), the Long Island STEM Leadership Association (LISTEMLA), and the Michigan Science Leadership Association (MSELA) as full affiliate members. We also thank our other affiliates for being part of our community and sharing news about NSELA opportunities.


7. Newsletter and Web Site. Thanks to our Communications and Marketing Committee for putting together our monthly newsletter. The new format and categories of interest have been well received by our membership. We are currently working on a new and better web site that will be unveiled in 2023. Stay tuned!

 

8. Financial Stability. While most professional associations have experienced significant downturns over the last two years of the pandemic, NSELA is in a very good place budget-wise for the coming year thanks to our treasurer, Shane Woods.

 

9. Journal. We have completed our transition to an online journal and have secured a new web domain where our Science Educator journal will reside.  Thanks to our journal editors for making this transition possible!

 

10. Membership. The past year has seen an increase in membership, including several new leaders in science education. We have activated our Community Forums on the web page to connect members with each other. Membership engagement will be a primary focus of our Membership and Affiliates committees. Do you have good ideas for membership engagement? We would love to hear from you and invite you to join the committee. 

 

As we launch into 2023, I want to thank all of our members, Board, and partners for your continued support of NSELA. Let’s bring on 2023 with our full support for science education leadership!


Respectfully,


Page Keeley, NSELA President 2022-23

Exclusive NSELA Member Benefits:

Professional Development

  • Access to restricted materials including archived webinars, virtual conference recordings, learning materials and conference handouts.
  • Discounts on professional development opportunities like the 1-day Leadership Summit and 3-day Summer Leadership Institute.
  • A subscription to The Science Educator Journal, a refereed journal which seeks manuscripts dealing with topics and issues of interest to professionals involved in science education leadership across a variety of roles, institutions and agencies

Networking

  • Online members-only discussion forums and regional community forums of science leaders.
  • Access to restricted features of the NSELA web site including a searchable membership directory.

Education and Information

  • Access to members-only content in the weekly e-newsletter.
  • Access to the Safe Science series, a comprehensive and continuing series dedicated to the improvement of safety in the science classroom.
Click Here to Join

NSELA Launches New Leadership Center

The Leadership Center is our brand new platform where both members and non-members will be able to access multiple resources including webinar recordings, our Science Educator Journal, partner information, and more.

This intuitive platform also allows you to navigate custom learning pathways with virtual courses, receive on-demand certificates for attendance, and keep track of professional development hours.

The Leadership Center is designed to save time and hassle. Watch this video to get a quick overview of the Learning Center before diving in!

 

ACCESS THE LEADERSHIP CENTER