Vision

Our vision is that the children of the District of Columbia - the capital of the free world - grow into knowledgeable citizens, prepared for the challenges of this 21st Century and able to apply their inventiveness, creativity and excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in service to society.

Mission

The primary mission of the Carnegie Academy for Science Education (CASE) is to promote inspiring science education that empowers children to ask questions, teaches basic analytical skills, and broadens educational and career horizons.

Our primary focus is on instituting lasting change in District of Columbia schools though our teacher professional development programs and student programs.

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History

The Carnegie Academy for Science Education began as community projects usually do - with a very modest beginning.  When Dr. Maxine Singer became president of the Carnegie Institution in 1988, her personal concern for the education of children, particularly in the neighborhood surrounding Carnegie's headquarters in Washington, DC, led her to found First Light, a Saturday science program for DC children, in 1989.  As First Light grew, its staff took the innovative lessons they learned teaching science and applied them to training the District's teachers.  Since 1994, CASE has been been offering teachers intensive summer professional development experiences that are designed to boost their scientific knowledge and equip them with new tools to engage students.

Timeline of Major Projects

1994-1999:  CASE's oldest teacher professional development program, the Elementary Summer Institute, grew with support from the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Philip L. Graham Fund. These grants provided to each teacher a stipend, a transportation allowance, a grant for science supplies for each classroom, and three graduate credits from George Mason University. During the first six years of the program approximately 500 elementary school teachers from over 50 schools attended the CASE Summer Institutes. 

1999-2004:  In 1999, CASE joined the American Association for the Advancement of Science and DC Public Schools in DC ACTS, a partnership supported by the National Science Foundation to reform the teaching and learning of science and mathematics and foster the integration of technology.

2004-Present:  Since 2005, CASE has been working with the District of Columbia Public Schools Office of Career and Technical Education (now Office of Career Pathways), principals, and teachers to build a biotechnology career pathway for public high school students in the District.  The flagship schools in this effort are McKinley Technology High School in Northeast, DC and Ballou Senior High School  in Southeast, DC.

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Staff

Julie P. Edmonds, Ph.D. Co-Director, CASE jedmonds@ciw.edu Dr. Edmonds taught university classes for seven years in Australia before obtaining her Ph.D. in molecular marine biology. During her postdoctoral training at NIH in the U.S. she also volunteered at First Light. She joined CASE in 1999 after 5 years in the biotechnology industry. She takes the lead on all programs for elementary teachers as well as First Light and has primary responsibility for financial and administrative management of CASE.   She also plays an active role in DC Biotech.  Dr. Edmonds serves as the Education and Public Outreach lead for two major NASA grants to CIW research laboratories: the MESSENGER mission to the planet Mercury and Carnegie’s NASA Astrobiology Institute team.  In this connection, she has worked on nationwide educational outreach products and programs such as the design of instructional materials for teachers and instruction of teacher workshops focused on planetary science, life science, and astrobiology.

Marlena L. Jones, M.S. Coordinator of Programs, CASE mjones at carnegiescience dot edu Ms. Jones joined DCBiotech/CASE in 2007. She is the coordinator and instructor for the summer biotechnology workplace program for high school students at McKinley High School.  Throughout the school year she provides a variety of services to teachers, administrators, and students, including enhancing and implementing options within the biotechnology academy career pathway. Prior to joining CASE, she was the Director of The Discovery Center for Cell and Molecular Biology at Catholic University of America. The Discovery Center is a science training facility for junior high and high school students and teachers.  Since 1993, Ms. Jones designed and implemented several of their programs – including the “What If?” Laboratory afterschool program for students, the Gene Search Project for rising high school seniors, and was editor-in-chief of the newsletter, The Biology Discoverer.  She was instrumental in the training of almost 20,000 student participants in the Discovery Series and Outreach Biotechnology Loaner Laboratory. Ms. Jones received her Master of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from Catholic University.  In addition, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Science degree in General Biology with high honors from the University of Maryland College Park where she became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She has extensive experience in teaching laboratory science at the college and high school levels.

Guy Brandenburg Mentor Teacher Mr. Brandenburg is a DC native and a veteran teacher of (mostly) middle-school mathematics in the DC Public School system. His math teams at John R. Francis and Alice Deal Junior High Schools have won a plurality of the MathCounts competitions held in DC for public, private, parochial, and charter schools over the past 23 years. He has also taught teacher workshops on use of technology in teaching math, has put together an original “Math On the Mall” tour inspired by the one invented by Dr. Florence Fasanelli, and has translated a dynamic geometry software package known as Geometrix from the French into English. Because of his interest in hands-on astronomy and science, he has built several telescopes from scratch, and about 5 years ago, he took over the weekly telescope-making workshop sponsored by the National Capital Astronomers, where he shows people how to grind, polish, figure, and aluminize mirrors, as well as make the rest of the telescope. He has also been having a good time as the lead teacher for the First Light Saturday program since 2006 and is a mentor teacher for the CASE Summer Astrobiology for Teachers program.

Bianca Abrams
Director, Math for America DC
babrams@ciw.edu

Ms. Abrams was educated in Poland and after emigrating to the U.S. obtained a Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business from New York University, Stern School of Business in 2002.  She received a Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Education from American University in May, 2009. After working for almost 12 years in financial services organizations in New York City, she relocated to Washington DC in 2006 to join Teach for America as a mathematics teacher in a Public Charter High School.  In August 2008, Ms. Abrams joined CASE as Director of Math for America DC.   She continues to tutor in a Saturday remedial math program which helps under-achieving students in grades 9 and 10.

Maxine Singer
Senior Scientific Advisor
msinger@ciw.edu

Dr. Singer is the founder of First Light (1989)  and CASE (1993). Both programs are directed primarily toward improving STEM education in DC public schools.  She carried out research in biochemistry and molecular biology at the National Institutes of Health for more than 35 years and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (where she has participated in a variety of science education projects) and recipient of the National Medal of Science.  She was principal investigator for two National Science Foundation grants to the Carnegie Institution for support of teacher professional development in DC public schools. She provides about 30 percent of her time as a volunteer for CASE/First Light.

Monica S. Thomas
Program Manager, Math for America-DC
mthomas@ciw.edu

In April 2012, Ms. Thomas joined CASE as Program Manager of MfA-DC.  Monica earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Howard University and her Master of Business Administration from University of Phoenix.  For two years, she worked as a substitute teacher in PG County, Maryland.  Subsequently, for approximately ten years, she worked for the J. Craig Venter Institute, the leading Genetic Research organization in the world. During this time, she worked intimately within multiple molecular biology laboratories on highly validated high throughput sequencing pipelines, mastered various DNA sequencing automated technologies, and lastly transitioned into serving as a Science Educator/Education Outreach Coordinator, playing a leading role in the development of the organization’s Education Department.  This dynamic, public, multi-faceted environment maximized her abilities in maintenance, development and expansion of STEM programming in support of not only youth in underserved communities but also adult educators in accordance to professional development.  Ms. Thomas has been responsible for transferring scientific concepts to varied audiences and researching and implementing transition to new, more effective methods for running major programs.

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Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources

CASE is housed in the historic and fully renovated headquarters building of the Carnegie Institution for Science  located close to downtown Washington, DC.  CASE offices and instruction areas occupy almost the entire first floor of the building.  In addition, CASE has access as needed to other public areas of the building including elegant special event and conference spaces that feature a large reception room, board rooms, marble rotunda, 450-seat auditorium, and historic science library.
CASE teaching facilities include:

• a fully equipped teaching laboratory for general science and biotechnology with workspace for 20-25 participants (need picture); teaching lab also has a separate access
• a classroom with adjoining preparation room and work space for 20 participants
• a Digital Learning center with 20 teaching stations, Intranet and Internet access, smart board, LCD projectors

CASE educational resources include:

• a Library with more than 8,000 catalogued text, reference and trade books, scientific and mathematical CD-ROMs and educational/scientific periodicals
• A vast range of science classroom kits (FOSS, Insights, STC) for grades Pre K-9
• A variety of equipment, chemicals, supplies and manipulatives for hands-on exploration and instruction in  mathematics, physical science, earth science, life science, and biotechnology
• a research grade Nikon inverted microscope with DIC optics and research grade digital camera
• 13 Compound microscopes and 19 stereomicroscopes including one of each type that has digital output for image capture and manipulation
• Digital still and video cameras

Office and Administrative facilities:
CASE Staff are housed in 3 offices, fully equipped with Internet and Intranet, wireless, 2 color laser printers and dedicated high volume fax/scanner/copier. Total Office capacity is 7 persons (currently 5 staff).

Carnegie Institution for Science administration provides CASE with support for human resources, payroll, accounting, grant management, auditing, and information systems.

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Getting Here

The CASE offices are located at 1530 P Street, NW (the corner of 16th and P Streets), three blocks due east of Dupont Circle (the nearest Metro stop) and ten blocks due north of the White House.

Click here for detailed directions

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