The Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist (ONJSC) at Rutgers University is developing a working model for a statewide educational outreach program for New Jersey schools as a founding member of the Plainfield, New Jersey school district's Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC). STAC was formed in Jan 2001 to build avenues of communication among Plainfield schools and professionals at local universities and industries related to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

The goal of STAC is to develop the educational tools and professional opportunities necessary to improve the overall achievement of traditionally underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. The Light and Life Laboratory and the Davidson Laboratory at Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT), another founding member of STAC, have already collaborated with the ONJSC to guide two Plainfield High School students through research projects in spring 2001.

The ONJSC plays a multi-faceted role within STAC, as a provider of research opportunities, real-time and archived NJ weather and climate data, and as the key provider for specialized training and support for Plainfield educators utilizing weather data in the classroom. All six Plainfield High School Earth Science educators participated in a preliminary, five-hour training workshop designed and implemented by the ONJSC on 12 May 2001. The research projects and specialized training will be discussed in depth, as well as the progress of STAC towards the creation of a statewide model for local weather education for New Jersey educators and their students.