post by U.S. Department of Education
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) will host the YOU Belong in STEM National Coordinating Conference in Washington, D.C. as a key initiative for the Biden-Harris Administration. The Raise the Bar: STEM Excellence for All Students initiative is designed to strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education nationwide. This new Biden-Harris Administration initiative will help implement and scale equitable, high-quality STEM education for all students from PreK to higher education—regardless of background— to ensure their 21st century career readiness and global competitiveness.
“Research shows how a sense of belonging in rich and rigorous classrooms is directly correlated to students’ long-term academic success. Moreover, the Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection continues to demonstrate that students of color and students with disabilities are disproportionately excluded from learning opportunities in STEM,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten. “Today, we are saying unequivocally to all students and educators that they belong in STEM and that they deserve to have rigorous and relevant educational experiences that inspire and empower them to reach their full potential as productive, contributing members of our nation’s workforce.”
In support of the initiative and its goals, the Department has:
- Published a Dear Colleague Letter to state and district leaders outlining how federal education funds can be used to enhance STEM teaching and learning.
- Announced a partnership with Beyond100K through an MOU. Beyond100K will partner with ED to identify the key challenges regarding the supply and demand of STEM teachers at the state and local levels. Additionally, Beyond100K will co-sponsor a series of national communities of practices to support states and school districts in developing and implementing scalable solutions to the STEM educator shortage and improve equitable access to high-quality STEM instruction for marginalized students.
- Additionally, over 90 public and private sector organizations from across the country have made specific commitments to enhance STEM education. These commitments range from local grassroots efforts to initiatives that are national in scope. (see the list of organizations that made commitments in the past 4 weeks below)
Organizational Commitments to Support YOU Belong in STEM
The U.S. Department of Education invited STEM education entities to make bold commitment(s) to advance STEM education in America. We encourage you to consider the following parameters in developing your commitment:
- Equity & Belonging: How does our work support ecosystems to cultivate rigorous, culturally relevant, and joyful STEM classrooms with a focus on belonging that meets the needs of underrepresented students and educators?
- Measurable Impact: How will we know and track the number of stakeholders who will be impacted by this commitment, including states, districts, schools, educators and students?
- Outcome-Oriented: How are we changing and improving the experiences of students and educators because of our work?
- Force Multiplier: How will our commitment advance impact across the STEM ecosystem?
- Transparent: How do we plan to achieve the outcomes and why do we think our approach will work?
Initial Organizational Commitments Supporting You Belong in STEM
In just three weeks, over 90 organizations and even individual educators from across the country have come forward to offer specific commitments to enhance STEM education for all. These commitments range from local grassroots efforts to initiatives that are national in scope. Those interested in joining this movement may submit a commitment here by December 31, 2022.
Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program
American Federation of Teachers
American Institute of Mathematics
American University Game Center
Association of Science and Technology Centers
Battelle/STEMx
Beyond100K
Black Rocket Productions
Breakthrough Collaborative
Brightmoor Urban Training LLC
BrightSpark, Inc.
Brown Toy Box
BrownSTEM
California State University, Office of the Chancellor
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Center for Energy Workforce Development
Center for Family Math at NAFSCE
Center of Science and Industry (COSI)
Challenger Center
Chicago Public Schools – Pershing Magnet School
Code.org
CodeV
Community Resources for Science
Computer Science Teachers Association
Data Science 4 Everyone
DiscoverE
East Syracuse Minoa CSD STEM Learning Ecoystem
EdGE @ TERC
Educate Maine
EnCorps, Inc.
FULL STEAM AHEAD LLC TN
GGUSD
Hispanics for STEM
IDRA & Lead of the Alamo STEM Ecosystem
Intel Arizona
International Technology and Engineering Educators Association
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
ISS National Laboratory
JASON Learning
KC STEM Alliance
Kids’ Chemical Solutions
Learning Blade
LG Technical Services
MDCPS/ TeachforAmerica
Meharry School of Applied Computational Sciences
MMSA/ Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
MSD of Martinsville
National Children’s Museum
National Girls Collaborative Project
National Network of State Teachers of the Year
National Science Teaching Association
National Education Association
New Jersey Tutoring Corps Inc
New York Hall of Science
NI (formerly National Instruments)
Niswonger Foundation / STEM.LD
North Mason School District
Northeast Florida Regional STEM2 Hub, Inc.
Ohio Afterschool Network
Old Forge Elementary School
Out Teach
Overdeck Family Foundation
Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR)
Pennsylvania Statewide STEM Ecosystem
Philadelphia Education Fund/Philadelphia STEM Ecosystem
PS Science
S2TEM Centers SC/South Carolina Coalition of Mathematics and Science
SAE Foundation
Science is Elementary
SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers)
Smithsonian Science Education Center, Smithsonian Institution
Society of Women Engineers
Sourcewell
South Jersey STEM Innovation & Partnership
STEM Next Opportunity Fund
STEMpressarial INC.
STEMS
STEMS4Girls, Inc.
Student
Tagpros Children International
Techbridge Girls
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology
The LEGO Group
The New Mexico Out-of-School Time Network (NMOST)
The University of Texas at Austin/ Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)
The UTeach Institute at The University of Texas at Austin
U.S. DOE Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Unity Technologies
University of Houston
USD 457 and Kansas State Department of Education
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Wyoming Afterschool Alliance
365 Productions Inc
