STEM in our Communities: Teachers Supporting and Engaging K-12 Students Through Social and Environmental Justice STEM Issues – Dec 3

Posted by The Philadelphia Regional Institute for STEM Educators on November 15, 2022

We are excited to invite you to a teacher and student conference at Saint Joseph’s University on Saturday December 3, 2022, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. The day’s theme will link STEM teaching to social and environmental justice issues in the community: STEM in our Communities: Teachers Supporting and Engaging K-12 Students Through Social and Environmental Justice STEM Issues.

This FREE conference is open to all Philly educators and will feature work from STEM EFS Philly plus teachers involved in a variety of STEM initiatives including the USTRIVE project focused on socio-scientific issues (SSI) and social justice STEM framework (SJSP) and CLES-C focused on Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE) for K-8 educators.

Our keynote presenter will be Dany Sigwalt, climate justice advocate and author of This Book Will Save the Planet: A Climate-Justice Primer for Activists and Changemakers (free copies for attendees). There will also be teacher-led STEM workshops, presentations & resources from educational partners, networking opportunities with STEM and community organizations, plus a Student Sustainability Summit focused on developing proposals for mini-grants of up to $5,000!

Next steps:

• Click here to register for the conference
• Consider submitting a 50-minute workshop/session proposal (details below – deadline is November 21)
• Encourage high school students to register for the Student Summit and to submit a mini-grant proposal (details below)
• Share the attached flyers with students and teachers in your network
• Encourage community organizations to host a resource table (details below)

We look forward to seeing you, colleagues, and students in December!

Complete this form by November 21 to present a 50-minute workshop:

Workshops are to engage participants in STEM activities that equip educators to combine STEM with environmental and social issues in their communities. Workshops can be an activity for teachers to use in their classroom, education focusing on STEM with environmental and social justice, etc. Presenters will receive a $250 honorarium.

Student Sustainability Summit and Mini-Grants: High school students from across the city are invited to register for the Student Sustainability Summit on the environmental, social, and climate issues that matter to them! Students will meet other young change makers (current or aspiring!), share about what environmental and social problems are going on in their communities, and learn how to work together towards a sustainable, thriving Philly. A theme will be chosen by a team of student organizers and will be announced ahead of the summit.  During the session, participants will learn about a Mini-Grant Program where they can receive up to $5,000 for youth led sustainability projects. Workshops will be hosted for student teams with project ideas to develop strategies for their grant proposal, and for student teams looking for inspiration to create a fundable project. More information HERE. High school students who attend will receive a $75 stipend.

Complete this form by November 23 to host a resource table: Resource tables will be set up and available during the entire conference with a representative from your organization available at the table from 12:00pm-12:45pm to answer questions. Resource tables can promote your organization, promote professional development opportunities, provide information for community/educational/STEM resources, network, information for upcoming conferences/events, volunteer opportunities, student programs/opportunities, etc.

Have any questions or need a little more time to figure out how you’d like to get involved? Email Dorianna at destes@sju.edu.

Informational flyer.

EfS Mini-Grant flyer.