Scientist in Every Florida School exhibited for the first time at the Palm Beach County School District’s annual STEM Back to School Conference.  The event took place during pre-school week and brought together science and math teachers from middle and high schools across the county. The day encompassed a menu of interactive presentations for teachers to select from, as well as vendor and exhibitor booths to explore.  

The opportunity for SEFS to pitch our free service to science teachers was the first of this magnitude since the project’s inception in January of 2019.  Outreach Coordinator, Stephanie Killingsworth and scientists, Molly Selba, Victor Perez, and Amanda Waite, were able to spread the word about the innovative project to hundreds of teachers throughout the day.  Over 1000 teachers attended the event, according to the District website.   

SEFS presented in four of the presentation sessions in which teachers were surveyed to better learn about the group and their needs.  The SEFS group accumulated important data to further customize our program moving forward into the 2019-2020 school year.  Scientists spoke about their specific areas of expertise and demoed lessons co-written with teachers to serve as examples of how SEFS can be implemented in schools.  By the end of the day, Scientist in Every Florida School had connected and informed 119 teachers from 43 middle and high schools on how to get involved with Scientist in Every Florida School.