SPARK teacher Jennifer Kennedy recently spoke on the “Beyond the Test Scores: Into the PreK-12th Grade STEM Classroom” panel for the National Science Board. 

“The panel went well. I shared my concerns about the lack of professional development opportunities and teaching materials coming from the federal level,” Kennedy said. “Again, the majority of STEM offerings coming from federal agencies focuses on middle and high school level students and teachers.”

She went on to say, “our early childhood teachers and students really need reading materials about STEM discoveries, careers, and people; that is written by early childhood educators who are experts in both the STEM content and the current trends in reading education.”

Kennedy says the National Science Board listened to her concern and recognized the need for more development opportunities for STEM teachers. 

“For me, I will continue to do my very best to provide quality STEM educational opportunities at SPARK, while sharing our hard work with teachers across the country,” Kennedy said. “Diane Trout, STEM specialist at HEART Academy at Julian Newman will present with me at the National Science Teachers Association’s national conference in Atlanta later this month.”

She went on to say, “we will share activities and curriculum that we have developed for our students with other teachers from around the country. We are really looking forward to all of the new learning we will bring back.”