Announcing the AACT Strategic Plan

Dear AACT Members,

This summer, the AACT Governing Board, in collaboration with staff and with input from AACT members, held a retreat to develop a strategic plan for AACT over the next three years.

The strategic plan aims to capitalize on the successes AACT has enjoyed to date, while also taking into account feedback from teachers—collected via member surveys, interviews, and input from volunteers as well as other leaders.

The AACT Governing Board devised the plan using a process developed by the American Chemical Society Leadership Development System® that guides participants though the process of defining a mission statement and developing a portfolio of goals along with prioritized lists of strategies to meet them.

Through this process, the Governing Board developed the following vision and mission for AACT:

• Vision—inspiring and empowering K–12 chemistry educators
• Mission—supporting the success of educators by providing quality resources, professional development, and networking opportunities

Following from these statements, three goals for AACT emerged:

• Continue to develop and improve instructional resources at a rate of 10% per year to increase the number and engagement of AACT members.
• Increase the number and quality of opportunities for networking and communication among current and future AACT members.
• Increase participation and impact of relevant and accessible professional development opportunities for all educators.

The Governing Board will continue to track the progress of the strategic plan over the next three years.We will roll out new initiatives and pilot new strategies to further strengthen our commitment to K–12 chemistry education and our members who advance it.

I would like to thank Wayne Jones and Kathleen Schultz from the ACS Board of Directors for their guidance throughout the process.If you have any questions or comments about the strategic plan, please feel free to contact the Governing Board at aact@acs.org.

Thank you for support of AACT and chemistry education!

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Heather Weck is the 2019–2020 AACT President and Governing Board Chair.