Thank You from Past AACT President Barbara Sitzman

To AACT members: A huge thank you to each of you for your support during the launch of the first national organization for teachers of chemistry by teachers of chemistry. The past two years have been an exciting and successful beginning for the first professional organization especially designed to support K–12 Teachers of Chemistry. With ACS support and Dow as our sole founding partner we have grown into a national organization complete with a broad web presence that offers classroom resources, workshops, webinars, and an online peer-reviewed periodical.

Moving Forward

During the 2016–17 year we were proud to announce the selection of ten Regional Representatives to disseminate information about AACT in their respective areas of the U.S. and Canada. Last year, AACT President-elect Jenelle Ball produced a monthly newsletter listing opportunities and an invitation to our Representatives to share their experiences. This year the program will double with 10 additional Regional Representatives. Last year President Scott Hawkins led frequent webinars and teleconferences for AACT Governing Board planning. In addition he promoted AACT through, an article in the ACS publication, Chemical and Engineering News and gave ACS conference presentations on chemical safety.

Congratulations

Two members of the AACT 2015–17 Governing Board, Roxie Allen ( the ACS Division of Chemical Education Representative) and Regis Goode (the AACT Committee Representative) were honored as 2017 Fellows of the American Chemical Society.

I was very proud to serve as your inaugural president and now as Committee Representative to support our Membership Support Services (MSS) and Nominating & Awards (N&A) committees.This will be the second year for these committees. This year N&A will develop procedures to recognize outstanding AACT members; MSS will focus on support for K–8 teachers of chemistry.

An Invitation

Please consider this note an invitation to continue to actively support YOUR organization. Volunteer to serve on a Committee or as a Regional Representative, run for an elected office, submit your teaching ideas, and more. Definitely share information about AACT with friends and colleagues. I look forward to working with all.

Thank you!

Barbara is a Past President of AACT with more than 40 years of experience as a teacher of chemistry. She now serves as the Committee Representative on the AACT Governing Board.