Dear CASE Members,

As we begin another school year, I find myself thinking about what it truly means to prepare students for the world beyond our classrooms. The answer, in part, is science. But not science confined to a lab or a single period on a student’s schedule.

Science is woven into nearly every part of our lives. Students encounter questions about climate and natural resources in social studies, analyze data and patterns in mathematics, explore the history and ethics of scientific discoveries in English and history, and use design, technology, and engineering to solve real-world problems. The connections are everywhere. The challenge and the opportunity is making those connections intentional.

This summer brought another reason to celebrate. In July, the California State Board of Education took an important step toward making science more visible and valued in our state’s accountability system by including science more fully in the California School Dashboard measures. For those of us who have spent years advocating for equitable K–12 science education, this moment represents more than a change to a dashboard. It is the culmination of a decade-long fight to ensure that every California student, not just those fortunate enough to attend a school that prioritizes science, has access to a high-quality science education.

What gets measured gets attention. What gets attention gets resources, support, and action. Making science visible in our state’s accountability system sends an important message: science is not an enrichment subject, an elective, or something we get to when there is extra time. Science is an essential part of a well-rounded education.

And that brings us back to this issue’s theme: Beyond the Lab: Science in Every Subject.

The California NGSS vision has always asked us to think differently about science. Science is not simply a collection of facts to be learned; it is a way of making sense of the world. When students apply scientific practices across disciplines, they begin to see that the boundaries between subjects are often artificial. They analyze evidence, recognize patterns, communicate ideas, solve problems, and make decisions based on what they know and what the evidence tells them.

Cross-content collaboration does not require every teacher to become a science teacher. It requires us to recognize the powerful places where our disciplines intersect—and to give students opportunities to experience those intersections.

As educators, we have an opportunity to move beyond thinking about where science fits in the school day and instead ask where science already exists in the questions our students are exploring. How can a history class investigate the science behind a public policy decision? How can mathematics help students make sense of environmental data? How can English students evaluate scientific claims and communicate evidence-based arguments? How can CTE courses connect students to the science and engineering practices used in the careers they are preparing to enter?

These connections make learning more authentic,and they help students understand that science is not something that happens only in a science classroom. Science is something we use to understand our world, navigate our communities, and shape our future.

This issue of California Classroom Science celebrates educators who are making those connections. I hope their stories inspire you to look beyond the traditional boundaries of our subjects and find the places where collaboration can make learning more meaningful for students.

Because science isn't just one subject.

Science belongs everywhere, and every California student deserves the opportunity to experience it that way.

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