We, the undersigned, are writing out of deep concern that for the second year in a row NOAA's Teacher at Sea Program is proposed to be terminated in fiscal year 2015 as part of a reorganization of Federal STEM education programs. This program offers teachers a life-changing opportunity. Every year a select group of educators each spend time on the science crew of one of NOAA's Research Vessels. Teachers return to the classroom with a new understanding of what science is, of the way science is done, and of how science should be taught. What a gift.

For 25 years NOAA’s Teacher At Sea Program has brought STEM education of the highest quality to teachers and their students from all around the United States. Since NOAA is the only federal agency which is positioned to bring personnel to and from a fleet of research vessels, it is the only agency which is capable of offering teachers true hands-on experience in ocean science working alongside the scientists themselves as they go about their study. The loss of such a program after 25 highly successful years would be a true tragedy. The loss of such a program at the moment when ocean science enters science curriculum across the United States, in many cases for the first time, would be an incalculable loss for the students of this nation. Please restore funding to this important program and maintain it year to year so that its future can be ensured at this time of critical need for more STEM Education and ocean science training opportunities.