
Science Support
Science gives us tools to understand the world around us and make it better. That's why we partner with school teams and school systems to strengthen real-world, NGSS-aligned science practices that help all learners excel.
Science is the key to unlocking new futures. Emerging global challenges like climate change, crumbling infrastructure, disease prevention, and public health will require generations of scientists from all backgrounds who can find solutions that work for everyone. Science education lays the groundwork for realizing that future, and we want to do our part.
That’s why Leading Educators is offering new partnership opportunities focused on nurturing excellent science instruction aligned to NGSS, beginning with the Next Generation Science Educators Network.
The Need
The growing demand for a science and STEM-focused workforce requires today’s students to have more than a fundamental understanding of science.
Today, only 61% of high-poverty high schools offer physics (a proxy for more advanced courses), compared to 92% of low-poverty schools.

Get Best-in-Class Science Professional Learning
Teaching and learning that is NGSS-aligned requires science educators to make a significant pedagogical shift. They require and expect professional development that surpasses basic introductions to curriculum materials and resources.
Likewise, school leaders and coaches need greater support for honing their lens of what excellent science looks like in practice so they can provide guidance and resources that make a difference.
Our Solution
- For school systems and networks of schools, we offer consultative instructional support aligned to NGSS.
- For school teams, the Next Generation Science Educators Network will provide free, yearlong professional learning for up to 30 science educators and leaders to work toward nurturing high-quality, student-led science experiences.
We’ll help you hone your vision of effective science instruction in practice and develop the skills necessary to help others achieve it. Leading Educators is proud to be an OpenSciEd Certified Professional Learning Provider.
What Makes Our Support Stick
Practice makes possible. Our science support centers hands-on and student-led science standards so educators can build content knowledge and instructional practices through application.
- Our content makes connections between the four components of STEM education and real-world problem-solving, student-led and project-based learning.
- We’ll concentrate on specific issues of science content and pedagogy that are derived from research and exemplary practice.
- Participants will actively observe, analyze, and apply feedback to teaching practices to support continuous improvement and foster ongoing collaboration among science, math, and technology teachers.
No matter where you’re starting, we can help your district or state become a dynamic learning system where all students and adults are set up to achieve greatly in science and STEM, together.
We draw from our expertise as career educators, our proximity to leading researchers, and our practical experience as coaches and designers to help educators practice what they teach and plan for the future.
We advise state and local system-level leaders on developing and implementing a vision for science that addresses NGSS-aligned curriculum implementation, data systems to drive effective continuous improvement, and high-quality professional learning that strengthens teacher practice and impact.
Build a strong plan and bring it to life with our help.
We support you in designing and facilitating high-quality professional learning for district and school administrators, literacy coaches, and teachers in various formats. These can include regional or network convenings, asynchronous modules, train-the-trainer workshops, and school-based learning cycles.
Cultivate strong practice with knowledge-rich, practical professional learning.
We support you in strengthening your implementation drivers through
science leadership training, observation and feedback, data stepbacks, and capacity building around creating and sustaining high-quality professional learning on your own.
We can help you build on the strengths of your team.
Watch a Free Webinar
Want a taste of what you can expect from the learning? “Unpacking 3-D Phenomena-Based Science” explores three dimensions of phenomena-based instruction, helping you know what to look for and how to work toward these elements in practice.

Start the Journey to Life-Changing Results.
Let us know how we can help.
Explore Science Content
What needs and emergent opportunities are on the horizon for science? We offer perspective on these topics on our blog and in other multimedia.
About Katie Murphy
Before joining Leading Educators, Katie worked alongside and coached school leaders in New Orleans and Baltimore. Most recently, she designed school review processes that provided school-wide data to identify challenges, illuminate solutions, and inform continuous improvement.
Katie holds an M.B.A. from Brandeis University. A Louisiana native, she recently moved to Indianapolis with her husband and three sons. She and her family love attending Louisiana festivals and taking beach trips on long weekends.
About Solona Hollis
Before joining Leading Educators, Solona worked with state, district, and school leaders to develop strategies and implement systems for increasing leader capacity and teacher effectiveness. Most recently, she supported the implementation of a state-wide coaching model.
Before pursuing a career in education, Solona worked as a chemist and co-invented a commercially sold adhesive.
Solona Hollis holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Dillard University and completed her education certification at Mercer University. An Atlanta native, she spends free time with her two sons and her dog, Layla. Solona works to promote autism awareness and advocacy in her local community.
Solona Hollis in the news
About Amanda Drenth
Amanda is a former platelet research scientist who became an educator in 2008. Throughout her teaching career, Amanda has taught every grade level from K-8. Most recently, she was a 4th grade teacher. She was a teacher in her most recent district for 8 years where she served as the President of the South Berwyn Education Association (SBEA) for four years. During her time teaching in Berwyn, she worked in collaboration with the Illinois Safe School Alliance to adopt policies to protect transgender students’ rights at the elementary and middle school levels; making her district the first school district in Illinois to have such protections.
Amanda grew up in her hometown of Maywood, Illinois, the daughter of an Irish mother and an immigrant Mexican father. Involved in political activism since her childhood, she was the Co-chair of the original Women’s March for Illinois, bussing over 3,000 people to Washington, D.C. in 2017. She was the co-chair of the 2021 inaugural Juneteenth Celebration in her current hometown of Berwyn, Illinois.
As a lady living with ADD, Amanda is the proud mother of 3 neurodiverse children, and has been married for the past 22 years to her husband Chris, who is an art teacher. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys being the frontwoman and vocalist for her 90s cover band, and is also a singer and original songwriter with 1 album done, and one in progress.
About Daniele Coplin
Before joining Leading Educators, Daniele supported the regional operations team of KIPP Capital region as an advisor.
Daniele holds B.A. in Spanish from Hampton University and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. Daniele enjoys cross-stitching and traveling.
About Candice Johnson
Before joining Leading Educators, Candice worked with college students as she created and executed programs to retain students of color.
Candice holds an M.S. in Student Affairs/College Student Personnel Administration from Illinois State University and a B.A. in Business Administration from Grand Valley State University.
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