Prospective Teachers

Interested in joining the TOPS program? Every summer we encourage new teachers interested in enhancing and complementing their curriculum with relevant labs designed to meet California’s Science Content Standards, NGSS, and Common Core emphasis, to join TOPS. For more information on these workshops and the three-step process of integrating TOPS labs into your curriculum follow the “How to Apply” link on the left. In summer 2019 we will be offering the TOPS biology and chemistry workshops. In order to facilitate participation by teachers, the Chemistry workshop will be 10-14 June and the Biology workshop will be 24-28 June. Both will be held on the Occidental College campus in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles.

For sixteen years we were fortunate to have an award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in supporting the TOPS effort. In 2012, HHMI changed their award criteria to eliminate outreach as a designated component. Hence, the summer workshops after 2012 have not been supported by HHMI.

We strongly encourage current TOPS schools to involve a science teacher who has never been part of the TOPS program. The application deadline for the 2019 workshops is May 31st, 2019.  Those accepted to the program will be notified of acceptance on or before June 3rd, 2019.