LASER Partners

The LASER Center has established partnerships with:

• Eight Regional LASER Sites, each of which serves local school districts chosen to participate in the Center's work
• Publishers of selected science curriculum materials
• Corporations and foundations committed to support of K–8 science education reform
• Individual school districts that are working to bring about science education reform in the classroom

The NSRC’s parent organizations, the Smithsonian Institution and The National Academies (the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council) are also key partners in the LASER Center.

Partnerships with Publishers

To help carry out the work of the LASERCenter, the NSRC established partnerships with four publishers of science curriculum materials developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The publishers are:

• Carolina Biological Supply Company Burlington, North Carolina)
• Delta Education (Hudson, New Hampshire)
• Kendall/Hunt (Dubuque, Iowa)
• Lab-Aids (Buffalo Grove, Illinois)

Support offered by our partners includes the provision of workshop leaders and sample sets of curriculum materials for LASER events, copies of catalogs and brochures describing the sample curriculum materials, and financial support for the LASERCenter.

More information on NSF supported curricula.

Partnerships with Corporations and Foundations

The NSRC has formed LASER partnerships with several major corporations and foundations. These corporations offer a variety of support and assistance for the LASER Center, including financial assistance, sponsorship of regional initiatives, provision of facilities and administrative support for conferences and other events, and contributions of time and expertise by corporate staff.

The corporations and foundations currently working with the NSRC as LASER partners:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc.
• DuPont
• Hewlett-Packard Company
• The Lucent Technologies Foundation
• The Merck Institute for Science Education
• The Shell Oil Company Foundation

Client School Districts

Each regional site selects local school districts for the LASERCenter. A regional site may serve selected school districts in an entire state, in part of a large state, or in several smaller states. The site first invites school districts to apply for participation in LASER events by completing an extensive written registration or application form. Please see the events page for more information on event registration.