Sharing Texas Expertise with Science Educators in Alabama

I was recently honored to be invited to speak at the Alabama Science Teachers Association annual conference, where I worked with approximately 150 science educators from across the state.

Over the course of the conference, I delivered five sessions focused on one central goal: helping teachers design learning experiences that deepen student thinking.

The sessions included:

• Developing literacy skills in the service of student sense-making in science — helping students read, write, and argue using evidence the way scientists do.

• Designing three-dimensional STEM challenges — creating engineering and science tasks that integrate practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts.

• Making investigations more meaningful, rigorous, and equitable — ensuring every student has access to intellectually demanding science experiences.

• Structuring student discussions to increase participation and deepen understanding — building classroom talk that supports reasoning, not just recitation.

• Designing assessment systems that make student thinking visible — moving beyond test prep to assessments teachers can actually use to guide instruction.

This is the work I do across the country. I am regularly invited to work with teachers, district leaders, and universities because my research and professional practice focus on one thing: helping students learn more deeply.

My work centers on designing solutions to real problems in schools — how to write standards that promote reasoning, how to build curriculum that supports sense-making, how to structure instruction so every student participates meaningfully, and how to design assessment systems that reveal understanding rather than just generate scores.

Importantly, I do not just talk about policy from a distance. I actively work with practicing teachers and pre-service teachers. I am in classrooms. I help educators refine lessons. I help districts rethink assessment. I study how students actually build knowledge and how teachers can support that process.

No other candidate in this race brings this combination of classroom experience, research expertise, standards development work, and ongoing collaboration with teachers.

The State Board of Education is responsible for setting academic standards, reviewing instructional materials, and shaping the rules that influence teaching and learning across Texas. That work requires deep knowledge of curriculum design, disciplinary learning, and classroom practice. It requires someone who understands how policy decisions translate into day-to-day instruction.

When other states invite me to help strengthen their science instruction, it is because of the expertise I bring. Texas students deserve that same level of expertise guiding decisions here at home.

I am proud to represent Texas educators across the country — and I am ready to bring that experience and knowledge to the Texas State Board of Education.