About Us

The TeXas Earth and Space Science Revolution (TXESS Revolution) is a professional development program aimed at 8th grade and high school teachers preparing to teach the senior capstone course in Earth and Space Science.  In 2006, the Texas State Board of Education voted to add a 4^th year of required science to the high school curriculum, and further voted to approve Earth and Space Science as an option for that 4^th year.  This created a unique opportunity in the earth science community in Texas to design a rigorous, content-rich course in the geosciences as a capstone.  The effort to develop the standards for Earth and Space Science Capstone is currently underway at the state level. In addition, the new course has created a need for teachers with the content knowledge and skill to teach the course.

The TXESS Revolution consists of eight professional development academies, each with a different contemporary content theme. The academies each last two-and-a-half days (24 hrs.), during which teachers will be participating in rigorous, data-driven learning activities. Field trips, guest lectures, and other special programs will also be integrated into the professional development.

The TXESS Revolution Project, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, targets minority and minority-serving teachers. We are working in collaboration with the Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching, and participants in GeoForce Texas to recruit and support teachers, but all Texas teachers are welcome to apply. Specific information about application, scheduling, requirements, and expectations are listed under the Application tab above.