Districts should use the professional development standards to provide teachers with opportunities to develop and enhance the needed capabilities for effective science teaching. Funding and professional time for such development is an essential part of district budgets.

The emphasis on the need for professional teachers of science does not diminish the need for other school personnel who enhance the science program. In addition to an administrative team and teaching colleagues, other support personnel might include the resource librarian, a laboratory technician, or maintenance staff.

TIME IS A MAJOR RESOURCE IN A SCIENCE PROGRAM. Science must be allocated sufficient time in the school program every day, every week, and every year. The content standards define scientific literacy; the amount of time required to achieve scientific literacy for all students depends on the particular program. The time devoted to science education must be allocated to meet the needs of an inquiry-based science program. No matter what the scheduling model, a school schedule needs to provide sufficient and flexible use of time to accommodate the needs of the students and what is being learned. In addition to time with students and with colleagues, teachers of science also spend considerable time preparing materials, setting up activities, creating the learning environment, and organizing student experiences. This time must be built into the daily teaching schedule.