STEM4Real

Huge congratulations to Dr. Rosanna Ayers, our Lead Instructional Facilitator at STEM4Real! 🎉Rosanna has played such an important role in building STEM4Real programming and supporting schools with science, CTE, NGSS, and culturally responsive teaching practices. She brings so much experience to this work from her background as a teacher, coach, professor, nonprofit leader, and administrator, and it shows in every partnership she supports. What makes Rosanna so special is her ability to bridge rigorous STEM learning with authentic relationship-building and equity-centered leadership. She continues to make a lasting impact not only within STEM4Real, but also across the schools, districts, and communities we serve. We are so grateful for your leadership, vision, and commitment to students and educators. Congratulations, Dr. Ayers! 💚We are incredibly lucky to have her on our team, .

Hey Science Educators! The STEM4Real team is going to be BUSY at NSTA- we're presenting at five different sessions and hanging out at the Fireside Chat! Whether you're interested in using AI for science planning, integrating science and literacy, or lesson study collaborations, we've got a session for you! Come say hi and hang out with us at one (or all!) of our sessions. We're excited to see you in Anaheim soon, ! 💯

They didn’t just attend PD… they found their people.

It wasn’t just another professional learning session.
It was connection, clarity, and most importantly, community.

When educators come together with a shared purpose, something deeper happens; ideas expand, confidence builds, and classrooms begin to transform before the lesson is even taught.

Here’s what we heard after just ONE session of our Intuitive Foundation x STEM4Real Medical Science Lesson Study Cohort:

✨ “Getting to know everybody and the connections we all have”
✨ “Hearing different perspectives and engaging with like-minded educators”
✨ “Unity and collaboration”
✨ “The addition of social justice standards in science curriculum!”
✨ “Being in community with people who are passionate about the same thing as me”
✨ “The energy and enthusiasm… Rosanna is a super facilitator 🔥”
✨“Finally understanding anchoring vs investigative phenomena”
✨ “I’m going to try the slide-sharing strategy with my students”
✨ “The NGSS connection and how critical phenomena really is”

This is what happens when we move beyond compliance-driven PD and into transformational learning spaces rooted in justice, community, and real practice.

And we’re just getting started.

If you’ve ever wanted your science classroom to feel more meaningful, more connected, and more alive…

This is your invitation.

Thank you to the for funding this critical work

Excited to continue our work with Richmond Public Schools during Lesson Study Cycle 2! This cycle, we're grounding our work in a question students actually care about:

🥚 "Where do chicken nuggets come from?"

Through this phenomenon, students aren't just learning science- they're engaging in real sensemaking. They're asking questions, building on each other's ideas, and connecting science to their everyday lives.

As teachers, we're using lesson study to reflect, refine, and strengthen how we support:
✅ Student discourse
✅ Culturally relevant connections
✅ Equitable access to science learning

Watching students move from curiosity to deeper understanding is exactly why this work matters.

From curiosity ➡️ to questions ➡️ to sensemaking. That's the shift.

Roll call! Who’s heading to the ACSA Equity Institute this week?

I’m looking forward to connecting with my ACSA familia and engaging in the conversations that matter most right now.

We’ll be diving into AI, equity, guardrails, and the leadership moves needed at the site and district level to ensure access for ALL students. And yes…we’ll also be wrestling with what it really means to humanize AI (if that’s even possible).

These are the moments where ideas turn into action—and I’m excited to learn, share, and build alongside such a powerful community of educators and leaders.

Let’s goooooo! 🌠

Last week we had an awesome Session 2 with the Madison Elementary squad. We focused on choosing case study students and created a lesson plan about Drought and Water Access in California. We also focused on implementing the creative arts into lessons through movement (dance, acting out a concept) or music (chants or songs).

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STEM For ALL includes STEM career prep! 🩺

We are so excited to partner with the Intuitive Foundation on a Medical Science Lesson Study Cohort for high school teachers in the Bay Area! This amazing grant program provides teachers with:

🩻 Exposure to medical science phenomena to use in their classroom- including guest speakers in the medical science field.

✏️ Collaborative lesson planning for real-world application- we work IN the classroom, we don't just talk about it.

💻 Resources about AI use through a social justice lens- so we can make it AI For ALL.

🔬 Stipends for purchasing additional classroom materials- to make the hands-on learning possible.

We're super excited about this program and the participation of amazing districts and teachers. LET'S GO!! 💪

Districts don’t need another initiative.They need a partner who can help them implement what they already believe in.

STEM4Real works with districts, COEs, and organizations ready to build justice-centered, NGSS-aligned STEM systems that actually change classroom experiences and student outcomes.

If you’re leading STEM, equity, instruction, or systems change—and you’re tired of surface-level solutions—this work is for you.

🔗 Book a partnership call: http://www.stem4real.org/partner

Happy New Year from STEM4Real! 🎉
As we step into this new year, we’re energized by the work ahead and deeply grateful for the partners, educators, and communities who continue to push STEM —rooted in justice, access, and belonging.

✨ Here’s what we’re looking forward to:
1️⃣ Supporting the Science of Reading through STEM phenomena — From Phonemes to Phenomena, leveraging science as a powerful context for literacy, language development, and meaning-making
2️⃣ Partnering with the Intuitive Foundation alongside San Leandro USD, San Lorenzo USD, Hayward USD, and Oakland USD to support high school teachers and CTE medical pathways education
3️⃣ Collaborating with IES, VCU, Richmond Public Schools, and Mt. Diablo USD to deepen middle school science discourse, academic talk, and student sense-making
4️⃣ Working with Solano County Office of Education to advance antiracism and antibias in STEM through leadership learning and instructional design
5️⃣ Continuing our work with elementary schools in Alisal USD and Rialto USD, centering curiosity, identity, and joyful STEM learning from the earliest grades.

🌱 Looking ahead:
Now is the time to plan for Spring 2026. Partner with STEM4Real to get a head start on science and STEM for ALL learners—from curriculum and professional learning to leadership alignment and equity audits. Let’s build systems that last, not one-off initiatives.

Ready to make STEM ?
What Does a STEM4Real Partnership Look Like?
Send us a quick note to ask any questions or to let us know how your leadership and lesson design is going, :

📧 Email: [email protected]
🗓️ Schedule a free call here to learn more about our STEM4Real Partnerships → https://stem4real.org/partner/