Supporting Excellent Science Teaching for Georgia

What's happening with GSTA?

Awards! Grants! Professional learning! Advocacy! NSTA National Conference! Read below to get all the details.

Be a VIP at NSTA Atlanta!
Special Registration and Sessions for Georgia Teachers

Join us in Atlanta for four days of energizing moments, engaging sessions, inspiring presenters, and community building across disciplines. From relevant session topics to unique session formats, to immersive pre-conference workshops, to informative share-a-thons and morning coffee chats, to exciting social activities and networking events, NSTA Atlanta23 is sure to bring you the best new thinking coupled with time-tested teaching approaches in a fun, one-of-a-kind, collaborative learning environment! GSTA will sponsor a special Georgia-specific strand of sessions full of ideas and resources that you can take back directly to your classroom. Even better, all GSTA members can register at the NSTA member rate! Join GSTA here and then register for the NSTA conference here. In order to receive the member registration rate, you'll need your GSTA member ID number. You can find this by logging in to the GSTA site and viewing your profile. If you need help with that, you can watch this short video tutorial.

Awards & Grants Winners Announced

Congratulations to these outstanding educators (and student) for their accomplishments or innovative ideas in support of science education in Georgia!

Stephanie Westhafer, GSTA Elementary Teacher of the Year, West Jackson Elementary School, Jackson County School System
Ann-Margaret Somers, GSTA Middle School Teacher of the Year, Mill Creek Middle School, Cherokee County School District
Alec Johnson, GSTA High School Teacher of the Year, Morgan County High School, Morgan County Charter School System
Ansley Wallace, GSTA Middle School Teacher of Promise, Youth Middle School, Walton County School District
David Kramer, GSTA High School Teacher of Promise, Morgan County High School, Morgan County Charter School System
Christy Brown, GSTA Administrator of the Year, South Effingham Middle School, Effingham County Schools
Lesee Strickland, GSTA Project Grant, Clinch County High School, Clinch County School System
Lindsay Elkins, GSTA Project Grant, Kemp Elementary School, Cobb County School District
Chloe Westhafer, GSTA Project Grant, West Jackson Middle School, Jackson County Schools
Ann Catherine Cox, GSTA Project Grant, Carrollton Elementary School, Carrollton City Schools
Presley Hill, GSTA Student Scholarship, Morgan County High School, Morgan County Charter School System

Upcoming events

Nobody is More than the Sum of the Parts

27 Feb 2023 5:00 PM • online

Tweets by @GSTANews

GSTA Statement on The Role of Science Learning in Supporting Literacy Development

As part of our ongoing efforts to advocate for the critical role that science can play in supporting literacy learning, the GSTA board has released this statement on The Role of Science Learning in Supporting Literacy Development. The statement will be submitted as testimony to Georgia House Study Committee on Literacy Instruction. You can learn more about the committee through our partner organization, Science For Georgia, here.

Along with preparing this statement, we hosted a virtual PL series focused on the role that science can play in supporting literacy across grades K-12. These sessions featured teachers, researchers, science education leaders, and policy advocates to share their experiences, expertise, and inspiration. Members can access recordings and other resources from the sessions at this link.

GSTA Board Nominations
Be a Voice for Science Education in Georgia! Join the Board!

Want to contribute to excellent science education for all students in Georgia? Have great ideas that would benefit science teachers and their students? You should be on the GSTA board! Nominate yourself or your colleagues. Find all the details and submit nominations here.

President-Elect
Vice President
Middle School Representative
College Representative
Directors for Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11

New DOE Resources

Have you seen the new resources from GaDOE? See below for the K-12 Teacher Notes, Literacy Plans, Multimodality Stations, Self-Evaluation Checklists, and Phenomenon Tasks!

2022-23 GSTA Board of Directors

Executive Director: Justin Harvey
President: Dr. Nicole Page
President Elect: Melissa Niemi
Vice President:
Secretary: Dr. Jessica VanValkenburgh
Exec. Treasurer/Secretary: Nancy Brim
Elementary School Rep.: Marquita Jackson
Middle School Rep.: Kristina Istre
High School Rep.: Jordan Tidrick
College Rep.: Dr. Kania Greer
Supervisors Rep.: Dr. Jeremy Peacock
District 1: Robert Bice
District 2: Jane Reed
District 3: Kelly Bodner
District 4: Jessica Pauldo
District 5: Dr. Sheila Barnes
District 6: Mandy Fulton
District 7: Heather Cowart
District 8: Dr. Michelle Thompson
District 9: Donita Legoas
District 10: Teresa Massey
District 11: Patti Howell
District 12: Kathryn Mullen

GSTA Professional Resources

Besides our world famous GSTA Phenomena Bank, GSTA supports science teachers across the state by curating professional resources.

GSTA is committed to supporting excellence in science teaching for the students of Georgia. GSTA works to CONNECT, INFORM, SUPPORT, and ADVOCATE for science teachers in Georgia. We also seek to PARTNER with like-minded formal and informal science education organizations to further GSTA’s mission and goals.

Membership	*CONNECT* Georgia science teachers to vibrant local and statewide professional networks that enhance their classroom practice and the value of their membership.
Professional Learning	*INFORM* GSTA members through a variety of professional learning opportunities that enhance access to current, research-based practices for teachers at all levels, for all disciplines, and in all settings across Georgia.
Resources	SUPPORT GSTA members through professional resources that help teachers improve their practice, the academic lives of their students, and their school communities.
Advocacy	*ADVOCATE* for excellent science education in Georgia on behalf of teachers and students and encourage our members to raise their own voices in support of excellent science education for all students in our state.
Outreach	*PARTNER* with informal science education stakeholders to facilitate science literacy opportunities for learners of all ages in real-world communities.

Support the Georgia Science Teachers Education Foundation (GSTEF) through Amazon Smile. All monies go towards awards, scholarships, and mini-grants for teachers and students!