(Image source from: AZCentral.com)

Arizona:
A former Educator of Arizona Department of Education announced that she has resigned after asking her to make modifications to the content  of the Science standard drafts of Arizona Science Standards involving evolution.

Lacey Wieser is a former high school biology teacher who began her career with the Arizona Department of Education 14 years ago. Wieser says her most recent title was director of science and STEM. In 2016, she began the process of reviewing and updating the science standards.

More than 100 educators worked to develop the draft standards. After the document was submitted to the Arizona Department of Education, Wieser says, she was told to make edits with which she did not agree.

“I was directed to make changes to adjust the wording to 'evolution,'" she explained. "That was coming from levels above me, I believe, from the superintendent’s office. I turned in my resignation and said, 'I will not be part of this.'"

Wieser says her last day on the job was Feb. 9, 2018. A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Education told Arizona's Family the agency would not comment on personnel issues.

Wieser was involved in the last science standards update in 2004. She says, typically, the state superintendent’s office will review the document for technical errors rather than make sweeping changes to content.

As a reason of Wieser refused to make the edits on evolution, it’s unclear which ADE employee did. She points to the phrase “the theory of evolution seeks” used several times in the draft standards. Another part adds the word “may” to form the statement the “process of evolution may result from natural selection.”

“It sends the message that a theory is a guess as opposed to understanding that a theory is the highest level of explanation based on evidence that there is in science,” Wieser said.

Wieser also took issue with the addition of “key concepts” that seem to steer learning toward vocabulary terms, which, she says, may confuse students by loading on more terms rather than helping students grasp the big picture.

Superintendent Diane Douglas initially said she would not comment on the draft science standards until they are ready to be presented to the State Board of Education.

By Lokesh