Stand Up for Science
Your School’s SCEP Just Made It Required—Now Let’s Make It Real
I don’t know who needs to hear this—but as a longtime science teacher, it was news to me when it was stated during the March District 7 DLT meeting: science goals are now a required component of your school’s School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP). Not just ELA. Not just math. Science.
If this is the first time you’re hearing it, you’re not alone. That’s a problem—and it’s also an opportunity. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to make our voices heard and refuse to allow the Department of Education to define what our students need without us in the conversation. Educators, particularly those of us in the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), must use the tools available to us to ensure that this policy change becomes meaningful practice in our schools.
Your school’s SCEP is not just paperwork—it is an accountability document. It defines what your school commits to achieving and how it plans to do so. As members of the SLT, we have the right to shape that plan. That means we can write in goals that reflect the real needs of our students and staff. And once those goals are written into the SCEP, your principal is accountable for meeting them. This is not symbolic. This is strategic. The SCEP is a place where policy becomes promise—and SLT members are the authors.
One of the most powerful tools we have is the School Leadership Team (SLT). Many educators don’t realize that under Chancellor’s Regulation A-655, SLT meetings are public. That means you have a right to be there—and so does every other member of your school’s community. These meetings are not closed-door administrative sessions; they are open spaces where teachers, parents, and staff can observe, participate, and hold leadership accountable.
And the reason SLT can be so powerful isn’t just because it gives educators a seat at the table—it’s because it’s one of the few spaces where we can join forces with the most powerful group in the school: the parents of our students. Parents want the best for their children. When they hear that science is being sidelined, underfunded, or poorly supported, they will speak up. When they hear teachers asking for more resources, planning time, or support, they understand that those asks benefit students directly. When we build alliances with parents on SLT, we shift the balance of power in our schools. It’s not educator versus administrator—it’s educators and families standing together for what students need.
This regulation creates an opportunity for real transparency. When educators and community members attend SLT meetings in numbers, they can pose the hard questions: How is science being taught in our building? What materials and time are being allocated to it? Are teachers receiving curriculum support, planning time, and professional learning in science instruction? These questions are not rhetorical—they are required if we want science education to reflect the depth and equity our students deserve (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019).
But SLT is only part of the story. Another critical mechanism of influence is the UFT’s budget consultation process. According to our union rights and practices, chapter leaders meet with principals to review school spending. If science is now a mandate in the SCEP, then school budgets must reflect that. Union representatives should be looking closely: Is there a line for science materials? Is there funding for PD in science instruction? Are certified science teachers being hired and retained?
If the budget doesn’t reflect the SCEP, that’s a red flag—and a point of pressure. We don’t build great science programs on mandates alone; we build them with resources and support. When these things don’t line up, we have every right to push for change.
As the UFT representative on the District 7 Leadership Team, I’ve taken steps to model what’s possible when we use our voice and position to organize through SLT. Like the SLT the DLT’s primary responsibility is to write the goals for the district in collaboration with the parents and other stakeholders. I have asked for the following to be added to our district-wide DCEP goals in order to hold the DOE accountable and provide an example of what every SLT in our city can—and should—be demanding:
Structured Scheduling: Ensure that all students in grades K–3 receive at least one stand-alone science and one stand-alone social studies period per week, with students in grades 4–5 receiving two periods each per week. These periods must be protected and taught with fidelity, with a focus on hands-on, experiential, standards-based learning.
Robust Professional Learning: Offer a comprehensive menu of high-quality, ongoing professional development in both science and social studies, prioritizing hands-on, inquiry-based, and culturally relevant teaching strategies.
Partnerships for Experiential Learning: Develop and expand partnerships with local museums, science institutions, historical societies, and civic organizations to provide students with meaningful, hands-on learning experiences that bring classroom content to life.
Strengthen the Substitute Teacher Pool and Monitor Instructional Consistency: Establish and sustain a district-wide mission to identify, recruit, and retain a robust substitute teacher pool, prioritizing substitutes from our community. The goal is to reduce lost or reassigned preparation periods by 50% during the 2025–2026 school year, particularly for cluster teachers and content specialists.
These goals reflect what we already know: quality education is hands-on, consistent, and community-based. When we fight for this work to be written into the SCEP—and properly funded in our school budgets—we’re not just checking off a compliance box. We’re organizing for lasting change.
The city’s decision to make science a formal component of every school’s SCEP is a long-overdue recognition of its importance. But this is not the finish line—it’s the starting point. We must make sure that this isn’t just another top-down directive that gets lost in translation. This is our opportunity to organize for better science education, better support for our staff, and stronger schools overall.
Because when educators lead, students thrive. And when we organize—with our families—we win.
References
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Science and engineering for grades 6-12: Investigation and design at the center. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25216
New York City Department of Education. (2023). Chancellor’s Regulation A-655: School and District Leadership Teams. Retrieved from https://www.schools.nyc.gov/docs/default-source/default-document-library/a655-school-and-district-leadership-teams
United Federation of Teachers. (n.d.). Budget consultation and consultation committees. Retrieved from https://www.uft.org/your-rights/doe-personnel-policies/consultation-committee