The Equity in Science Education project (ESE), a statewide science education and equity leadership project in California, was designed to bring to gether teams of educational leaders who are committed to promoting the academic success in science for all students. The project's goal is to rid our schools of the historical inequities and mind-sets that work against educational equity for all pupils.

ESE is beginning its second year and will continue to address the three primary focus areas of the project:

• Equity Issues: These include racism, classism, gender, language, tracking, testing, and other forms of individual and institutionalized bias.
  
  
• Equity Issues: These include racism, classism, gender, language, tracking, testing, and other forms of individual and institutionalized bias.
  
  
• Leadership Development
  
  
• Science Pedagogy and Content

Equity in science education is important in order to achieve quality education that is fair and just to all races, all social and economic classes, and both genders. Current data continues to show that African American, Latino, and Native American students at most California schools are significantly underrepresented in advanced secondary science courses and research on classroom dynamics impacting student learning, achievement, and self-image has found that teaching practices often mirror teacher biases. Furthermore, very few persons of color teach in California classrooms and even fewer still have taken leadership roles in professional development projects and systemic reform efforts.

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