18^th Annual RE-SEED Conference

The 18^th Annual RE-SEED Conference was held December 15, 2011 and was a great success. This was the 20^th Anniversary of the RE-SEED Program and the theme was a Celebration of Volunteering. Two RE-SEED volunteers who have been active in the program for twenty years were featured as representatives of all the more than 750 volunteers who have served, and many still serve, in the RE-SEED program since its inception twenty years ago. Bill Anderson was one of the first seven volunteers trained in the RE-SEED program twenty years ago and George Haus joined the program shortly after. Both , along with their spouses, Eileen Anderson and Marilyn Haus, described how their career in the RE-SEED program unfolded over the years. They were joined at the front of the room by twenty two volunteers who have served over ten years and all received a hearty round of applause from the audience.

Our keynote speaker, Jacob Foster, who oversees the state science, technology and engineering standards as Director in the MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, spoke to us on the Next Generation of Science Standards. He pointed out that there is a much greater emphasis on technology and engineering in the new standards scheduled to be released in 2013 and few science teachers are prepared to teach these subjects. This will provide an opportunity for programs such as RE-SEED to make a valuable contribution by supporting science teachers while they are retrained and teacher education programs catch up with the new standards.

Anthony D’Onofrio, Ph.D. described the new Sample America program which enlists middle and high school students in the quest for new antibiotics. The students are trained in how to take samples of soil from their neighborhood and perform preliminary tests to determine antibiotic activity. This is an international program and has already found several promising new antibiotics. The value to the schools is in showing the students what scientists really do and increasing their interest in science. This is one of a group of science programs utilizing the general public in scientific investigations.

The favorite activities portion of the conference was well received. George Haus, one of our twenty year veterans, demonstrated transmission over IR light and Steve Brovender described how the results of standardized testing in Lowell are beginning to show improvements in students outcomes along with several additional activities presented by volunteers.

An evaluation form was completed by 21 attendees and the results can be found here. http://www.mediafire.com/?a6ee38r5gvh8c