Science Linkages in the Community (SLIC)

Science Linkages in the Community (SLIC) is an initiative of the Education Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

The primary goal of SLIC is to enhance the effectiveness of community-based organizations and schools in providing science, mathematics and technology (SMT) activities. Initiated in 1993 by AAAS and initially funded by the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, the SLIC Initiative strives to better equip community-based organizations and schools to forge alliances, improve the SMT curriculum, ensure equitable dissemination of resources, and provide for a stable SMT education infrastructure for generations to come. 

Through customized, fee-based technical assistance, the SLIC Initiative provides trainers, volunteers, teachers, educators, administrators and leaders in community-based organizations and schools with the training, skills, curricula and materials needed to offer hands-on, inquiry-based science, mathematics and technology activities. 

The SLIC Initiative has provided technical assistance for community-based organizations, libraries, schools, museums, churches, science centers, corporations, foundations, and colleges and universities. Conferences, workshops and seminars have been conducted for the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza, Girls Inc., the Louisiana Department of Education, the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, National Easter Seal Society, the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists, the Salvation Army, and many other community-based organizations and school systems nationwide. 

For more information, visit the SLIC Technical Assistance web page.

The SLIC Initiative also provides publications and other resources, including our latest publication, TechLinks for CTCs: Science, Math, Health and Literacy Activities for Community Technology Centers. 
 

AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founded in 1848, is the world’s largest federation of scientific and engineering societies.  It currently has over 140,000 individual members and nearly 300 affiliated societies and academies of science.  AAAS publishes Science, the weekly professional journal, and Science Books and Films (SB&F), a source of critical reviews for schools and libraries. 

AAAS’s top programmatic priority is to improve science, mathematics, and technology education for youth.  Given the growing importance of science and technology in our society, it is crucial that the greater public, including women, minorities, and people with disabilities, see science as a part of their everyday lives.  AAAS efforts strengthen all aspects of education, both informal and formal, and broaden the opportunities for all young people to pursue science and engineering careers. 

For more information concerning AAAS' work in science education, please go to the web page for the AAAS Education Programs.
 

The AAAS Advantage

AAAS has a proven track record of providing affordable professional development for teachers and leaders in community-based organizations.  We stay on top of the ever-changing reform movement in science, math and technology education at the state and federal levels.  We also work closely with curriculum experts, Title I and other federal education program coordinators, and bilingual, math, science, special education and Head Start supervisors.  The SLIC Institute Technical Assistance Training provides the highest quality, in-depth instruction to strengthen instructors’ skills and confidence in teaching science to their students.