The question in the title might seem strange for an ASA president’s corner. However, at this time of year, I always think about the excitement of starting a new school year and collecting the tools needed for learning—pens, mechanical pencils, erasers, notebooks, and, yes, colored chalk for an analog version of the digital whiteboard. I know teachers, caregivers, and students will have a lot of challenges to deal with this coming school year—challenges many of us also faced in the spring. I am excited for the school year to begin so we can share the resources being curated and developed by the K–6 Education Initiative Working Group. Our hope is these resources can help enrich the educational experiences for children and educators.

When I first thought about the focus areas for the 2020 presidential initiatives, education was at the top of my list. Our mission commits us to “promoting the practice and profession of statistics.” For me, there is no doubt this mission can only be achieved if we devote time, energy, and resources to supporting education at all levels. Our track record of implementing successful programs and initiatives for graduate and undergraduate students, middle- and high-school students, and educators shows me you agree. In fact, this initiative builds on the K–12 work of previous presidents, including Jessica Utts and Barry Nussbaum.

The October 2016 column of then ASA President Jessica Utts was written by her Statistics Careers for AP Statistics and Other K–12 Classrooms Working Group and describes their efforts to implement Jessica’s initiative, which was “to provide statistics career information to Advanced Placement Statistics students and other high-school students, teachers, counselors, and parents.” This working group was chaired by then ASA Board member Anna Nevius. I’m happy to note that Anna is also a member of the working group implementing the ASA 2020 initiative in K–6 education.

Anna brings a wealth of experience from her work on this 2016 initiative, which our 2020 working group is taking advantage of. The 2016 working group focused on the following:

• Creating tips for effective classroom presentations in statistics and data science
• Answering the question, “What do statisticians and data scientists do?”
• Gathering resources and activities for teachers and classroom speakers
• A webpage with links to more information about each of these areas and more.

After Jessica, Barry Nussbaum became our ASA president. Barry sponsored a K–12 initiative called House of Statistics—Explore, Engage, and Learn, which he discussed in his JSM address. His initiative focused on middle-school students and educators, and his working group developed a web resource with videos, links to resources, and games. A collaborative effort with Laber Labs, this site introduces statistics and data science using fun and engaging educational videos and games. For Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, we highlighted the game Zombies on Treadmills, which teaches concepts in sequential decision-making. Any game with zombies seems like it would be a lot of fun, and I’m sure we could all use more “exercise” now after being at home so much because of the pandemic.

I’m often asked when I decided to become a statistician. My path to my current role is definitely nonlinear, but what is true is I always liked math. Unfortunately, this is not true for a lot of students today, and our successful initiatives focused at the middle- and high-school levels are important in changing attitudes about STEM. We know the fear and even dislike of mathematics can begin in the early grades, which is the impetus for focusing the 2020 initiative on the early elementary grades. Elementary teachers are super heroes. We know they work hard, and we want to help.

Our history and track record in ASA education initiatives made Barry the logical choice to lead the 2020 K–6 education effort and, fortunately, he agreed. Those of you who know Barry will not be surprised that the working group meetings, although focused and productive, are also filled with humor. He closes every meeting with a joke, which keeps us laughing. The team collaborating with Barry includes the following super stars:

• Melinda Baham, University of Michigan
• Jessica Behrle, Johnson & Johnson
• Jeanne Holm, City of Los Angeles
• Donna LaLonde, ASA
• Amanda Malloy, ASA
• Anna Nevius, FDA (retired)
• Jennifer West, Virginia Tech

I probably should also include the names of the team members’ children, because we often judge our work by the rubric, “Would your child use this tool?” The team has been meeting biweekly and is curating resources and working on an app, Statistics Across the Curriculum, to help teachers integrate statistics into their curriculum. The team also developed a game design challenge. The original deadline for the challenge was July 1, but we received requests to extend it so the deadline is now September 4. Respond to the challenge.

My goal for presidential initiatives is to always keep in mind that they are ASA community initiatives. In that spirit, I’m once again asking for your input and help. If you have visited a K–6 classroom, taught K–6 homeschoolers or classroom children, or participated in other STEM outreach activities, please share tips, activities, and other resources with us. We want Statistics Across the Curriculum to be a dynamic app. This will only be possible with your help. Complete the form to suggest resources that should be included. Please also suggest other ideas for outreach and let us know what you learn from teachers when you visit classrooms.

Finally, I want to acknowledge that we have begun important but often difficult conversations over the last few months. The ASA has affirmed its commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. I’m writing this column in July so can only anticipate what the new school year will bring. But, I thought it was important to share some resources about which I’ve learned. One that focuses on K–12 is Teaching for Black Lives. The website provides resources to accompany the book. Another amazing resource is the website Mathematically Gifted & Black. I want to continue to learn, so please share resources with me.

Before closing, I want to thank Donna LaLonde for her help with writing this article and for so much more. And now, as the summer ends, I hope you find time to relax and recharge and maybe even join those zombies on the treadmill for some statistical exercising!