Smithsonian Science Education Summit: Building a Coalition for Attracting and Retaining STEM Teachers

  • Participants stand around a table, listening to one speaker intently.
  • A man and woman stand together, mid-conversation.
  • A man and woman hug while giving the camera a thumbs up.

Smithsonian Science Education Summit: Building a Coalition for Attracting and Retaining STEM Teachers

The Smithsonian Science Education Center in collaboration with Shell USA, Inc. is hosting an annual Science Education Summit to engage leadership teams throughout the US who seek to address problems of practice related to ensuring all students and teachers are included in STEM opportunities and recognize themselves in STEM. This Summit is a highly interactive experience, with a clear outcome at the end – giving education systems the tools to develop district-specific “action plans” for addressing this problem, with support from Smithsonian Science Education Center mentors, coaches, and advisors.

The 2025 Science Education Summit will be hosted in Washington, D.C. 

Participants selected for the program who reside outside of a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C. will receive travel and accommodations provided by the Smithsonian Science Education Center.

For questions, contact Sherrell Williams at WilliamsSM2@si.edu 

 

Team Application Process

The deadline to submit a team application has passed.

 

Mentor Application Process

Mentors are critical to the success of the summit and the work to follow. If accepted, a mentor is paired with a team and commits to working with that group leading up to and during the summit as well as providing ongoing support thereafter. The deadline to submit an application as a mentor has passed.

About the Initiative

This STEM Education Summit is only one component of a larger initiative that began in 2015 when the Smithsonian Science Education Center in partnership with Shell USA, Inc. convened a group of education organizations from around the nation to share and discuss proven strategies that have improved the recruitment, retention and engagement of science educators. From this meeting, a Steering Committee was formed and areas of potential work emerged: develop a playbook for district-level change; implement district-level change; and advance teacher leadership development.

Our ultimate goal for all of the work comprising this Initiative is to address shortages in the STEM teaching workforce and improve leadership opportunities for teachers. We are working to achieve this goal and supporting like-minded individuals to do the same.

About the Playbook

Cover for the playbook "Fostering Change: Ideas and Best Practices for Diversity in STEM Teaching in K-12 Classrooms"This publication addresses the second area of work identified by our steering committee: developing a playbook for district-level change. The playbook below captures some of the best practices for creating systems level change at the district level that have been proven successful in increasing the recruitment, retention and promotion of STEM teachers.