By Melissa Marcucci, President

Dear CASE Members,

As spring unfolds across California, we are reminded that this season is one of renewal, growth, and possibility. Our theme for this edition, “Planet, People, Purpose,” invites us to reflect on how science education connects learners to the world around them, empowers communities, and inspires meaningful action. Just as the natural world reawakens, spring offers us an opportunity to rejuvenate our practices and recommit to developing students as informed, engaged stewards of our planet.

April’s Earth Awareness Month provides a powerful moment to elevate environmental literacy in our classrooms and learning spaces. Through daily social media posts from our Environmental Literacy Committee, we will share ideas and resources designed to inspire citizen climate action and support educators in cultivating agents of planetary change. We are also excited to celebrate the winners of our Earth Day Bookmark Contest across each grade band, highlighting student voice, creativity, and commitment to our shared future. Together, these efforts reflect CASE’s dedication to connecting science learning with real-world impact.

Professional learning remains central to our collective impact. From the ongoing CAST webinar series supported by our NGSS Committee to performance task and assessment guidance through ATLAS, CASE continues to strengthen instructional practice statewide. Our NGSS+CTE team is advancing frameworks to embed three-dimensional learning into CTE pathways, while Advocacy efforts champion dashboard inclusion and sustained funding for science professional learning. Through mentoring programs, leadership development, environmental literacy partnerships, and equity-driven initiatives, our committees ensure that our work is not merely aspirational but actionable and sustained in classrooms and communities across California.

Spring is also a time to lean into community. Whether through attending CASE events, renewing or beginning your membership, applying for committee service, or exploring opportunities to serve on the Board of Directors, there are many ways to expand your impact. Planning is already underway for our 2026 California Science Education Conference in Sacramento, where our theme, Science in Action, will spotlight the dynamic ways educators and students bring science to life. There is so much to see, to learn, and to contribute.

As you move through this season, I invite you to pause and consider: How can I make an impact on my community through science education? How can your classroom foster curiosity, civic engagement, and environmental responsibility? How can your leadership amplify both people and the planet?

Together, through clarity of purpose and collective action, we are cultivating a generation prepared not only to understand the world but to improve it. This spring, let us be inspired, take action, and continue advancing science education that serves our planet, our people, and our shared purpose.

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