[RNCSE] A letter from NCSE's executive director — January 2026
Dear NCSE Supporters,
The new year brings a stylistic change to Reports of the National Center for Science Education. We are no longer offering a PDF version of the magazine in order to streamline the viewing and reading process. But don’t worry — we’ll continue to publish the same great features like our “Random Samples” interviews (check out my interview in this issue with NCSE podcast host extraordinaire Mat Kaplan), our much-loved book reviews, and our member news. We hope you enjoy this new format!
Along with my interview of Mat Kaplan, this issue features a fascinating look into one of the presentations that Science Education Specialist Wendy Johnson provides when she facilitates professional learning for science teachers. Johnson shares a model that outlines differing levels of evolution acceptance based on a person’s ideology, understanding of biology, and perspective on the nature of science. I highly recommend taking the time to read through her article.
We also introduce four new NCSE Board of Directors members: Carin Bondar, Lee Ferguson, Quentin Ladson, and Gale M. Sinatra. I’m so excited to be working with them alongside the rest of our amazing board members, and incredibly proud of the fact that Lee Ferguson and Quentin Ladson will represent the first practicing K-12 teachers to join the NCSE board. Achieving this milestone has been a goal of mine since first taking on the role of executive director.
In addition, we provide a roundup of some of the recent legislative proposals from across the country that we’re monitoring, and RNCSE reviews of H is for Hope: Climate Change from A to Z and Macroevolutionaries: Reflections on Natural History, Paleontology, and Stephen Jay Gould.
As we launch into 2026, and a continued time of uncertainty for evidence-based science and science education, I want to thank you for supporting NCSE’s work to combat misinformation and disinformation in the science classroom. We couldn't do it without you.
