Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1175948
Public's Attitudes Toward Public Schools I N A M A J O R show of support, 74 percent of parents and 71 percent of all adults nationwide say they would support a strike by teachers in their community for higher pay. The results from the 51st annual PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools show that even more — 83 percent of parents and 79 percent of all adults — say they'd support teachers striking for a greater voice in academic policies. The poll also reveals that because of poor pay and underfunded schools, half of public school teachers nationally have seriously considered leav- ing the profession in the past few years. That rises to 62 percent among teachers who feel undervalued by their community, who say their pay is unfair, or who earn less than $45,000 annually. Having considered quitting also peaks among high school teachers at 61 percent vs. 48 percent in the lower grades. See more at pdkpoll.org/results. Compare the Candidates NEA has developed an online presidential candidate comparison tool to see every candidate's position on education issues that matter. The nonpartisan tool is a part of the Strong Public Schools campaign, launched by NEA to provide insight and information about the 2020 presidential candidates and their educa- tion policies. "It is the work of this union to be prepared to be powerfully engaged in the most important election in our lifetime," says NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. "Every election is about the future, but this one is to protect our democracy. We will need more information and more member engagement than ever before." Visit StrongPublicSchools.org for candidates' positions, news and events, and a chance to submit your video questions to candidates. —Julian Peeples Free Science Materials Nonprofit OpenSciEd (openscied.org) offers educators high-quality, open-source, full-course science instructional materials that can be eas- ily accessed, downloaded and adapted to your needs. Current offerings support implementation of middle school science instructional units. While units are slowly being rolled out, the long-term goal is to create an entire science curriculum from elementary to high school. All materials align with the Science Framework and Next Generation Science Standards, and consist of videos, slides, handouts, assessments and activities. They're designed to be used with low-cost standard labora- tory equipment. California, through the K-12 Alliance at WestEd, is one of 10 OpenSciEd part- ner states. From OpenSciEd's seventh grade unit on metabolic reactions. 12 cta.org In the Know N E W S & N O T E S