Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition letter to the President

[Margo]

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Coalition
www.stemedcoalition.org
November 20, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
Like many Americans who care deeply about the future of our nation’s
leadership in the
global economy, the members of our organizations were heartened by
your April 27th
remarks before the National Academy of Sciences. In that speech, you
outlined a broad
agenda to reinvigorate our country’s science and technology enterprise
and pledged to
work with our communities to inspire students to pursue careers in the
science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields that will help
keep our nation
prosperous, innovative, and competitive.
Our organizations represent over 6.2 million science, math,
engineering and technology
professionals and educators and we are pleased to respond to this call
to action. Starting
today, we are pledging to engage our volunteer members to form
partnerships with
educators and schools and collaborate in an ongoing campaign of events
and activities
that will help to improve educational outcomes; inspire students to
pursue science,
engineering, and technology careers; improve hands-on laboratory
environments in the
STEM subjects; and raise student, parent, and public awareness of the
importance of
science and technology to our nation’s future.
Over the next year we hope to build 10,000 “communities of support” as
the result of the
individual connections between K-12 educators and STEM professionals –
with the
potential to reach over 1 million students— and we are establishing
the ambitious goal of
building 100,000 such community relationships over the next four
years. Through this
bold effort, thousands of diverse and innovative collaborations
between communities of
STEM professionals and educators will help strengthen student learning
experiences
across the country.
Although many of our activities will be conducted on an ongoing basis,
we will be
focusing on two central projects we have termed National STEM Week and
National Lab
Day. During National STEM Week, our members would organize, publicize,
and join in
public events that bring together students, parents, and educators
with STEM
professionals, colleges and universities, and industry partners
designed to celebrate the
importance of science and technology within our society and inspire
young minds. This
week will function as a launch to an ongoing, multi year effort to
create close
collaboration between STEM professionals and educators.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Coalition
www.stemedcoalition.org
National Lab Day would focus on building teacher-community connections
that enable
STEM professionals to contribute their knowledge and skills to the
improvement of
middle and high school laboratory facilities and foster educational
activities that support
learning in a hands-on environment and in strong partnership with
individual teachers,
local teacher teams, and schools.
Accomplishing the initiatives we have outlined here will not be easy,
but we are prepared
to undertake this challenge knowing that you will be working alongside
us to advance our
common goals. We will also be working closely with the Office of
Science and
Technology Policy and the Domestic Policy Council to ensure that this
project is a
success.
Thank you for your continued leadership in elevating the role of
science and technology
in addressing our nation’s challenges. We pledge to work with you to
ensure our nation
remains strong and prosperous.
Respectfully,
National Science Teachers Association
American Chemical Society
American Association of Physics Teachers
National Engineers Week Foundation
SAE International
National Society of Professional Engineers
Council on Undergraduate Research
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Association of Science-Technology Centers
American Institute of Physics
American Society of Civil Engineers
National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions
American Society for Engineering Education
American Institute of Biological Sciences
IEEE-USA
ASME Center for Public Awareness
Math for America
National Association of Biology Teachers
Society of Women Engineers
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
American Association of Engineering Societies
American Council of Engineering Companies
International Technology Education Association
National Geographic Society
Citizen Schools
National Education Association
Council on Competitiveness
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Coalition
www.stemedcoalition.org
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
National Science Education Leadership Association
Biotechnology Institute
American Mathematical Society
American Society for Microbiology
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Triangle Coalition
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Association for Women in Science
American Nuclear Society, Inc.
Project Lead The Way
Association for Science Teacher Education
Girls Inc
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Geological Society of America (GSA)
Association for Computing Machinery
Computing Research Association
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
American Physical Society
Battelle
INTEL
Information Technology Industries Council
Association of American Geographers
International Society for Technology in Education
National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT)
Carnegie Mellon University
Botanical Society of America
Education Development Center, Inc.
American Statistical Association
Engineers Without Borders-USA
EAST Initiative
SPIE - The International Society for Optics and Photonics
Society for Economic Botany
American Society of Plant Biologists
National Society of Black Engineers
Junior Engineering Technical Society
National Girls Collaborative Project
NASA STEM School Administrators Association
Mosaica Education, Inc.
Center for Genomic Sciences Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
Baltimore/Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce
The University of Pittsburgh – Johnstown
Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES)
Project Exploration
New York Hall of Science
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Coalition
www.stemedcoalition.org
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
STEMES
Urban STEM Strategy Group
BEST Robotics Inc
National Science Decathlon
GALAXY Classroom/Best Practice Networks
National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM)
National Council for Geographic Education
Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS)
American Sociological Association
Society for the Study of Evolution
Ohio Mathematics and Science Coalition
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers, Inc.
University of Kentucky
American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)
Technology Student Association
The Ecological Society of America
In Reach, Inc.
Delta Institute for Math & Science Education Arkansas State University
& East Arkansas
Community College
Biomedical Engineering Society
American Fern Society
Funutation Tekademy LLC
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
American Physiological Society
Society for In Vitro Biology
Pathways into Science
The Ohio Academy of Science
Charles County Technology Council
Puerto Rico STEM Promoters
Center for Minority Achievement in Science and Technology
American Association of Anatomists
American Industrial Hygiene Association
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
Chicago Educational Publishing Company
American Society of Agronomy
Crop Science Society of America
Soil Science Society of America
Chinese Institute of Engineers -USA
American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association
The Institute of Industrial Engineers
National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates
(NAMEPA)
CSTEM
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
CASTLE Coalition (Charlotte Area STEM Teaching and Learning
Environment)
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Coalition
www.stemedcoalition.org
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc. [NACME]
Philadelphia Academies, Inc
ASFE/The Geoprofessional Business Association
American Public Works Association
Engineers Leadership Foundation
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
American Bryological & Lichenological Society.
The Einstein Project
Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative
Miami University Center for Chemistry Education
Coalition for Science Literacy at USF
The National Science and Technology Education Partnership
Entomological Foundation
Shiller Math
MITS, Inc.
Science Olympiad
The Pittsburgh Regional Center for Science Teachers
Learning for Life Corporation
Academy of Science-St. Louis
Ohio Technology Education Association
Ohio Technology Education Advisory Council
Scottsdale Children's Museum
Consortium of Social Science Associations
TBED21, Inc. – technology-based economic development for the 21st
century
Iowa Mathematics and Science Coalition
Connecticut Academy for Education in Mathematics, Science &
Technology, Inc
The Evergreen Project
BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study)
Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies
Knowledge Alliance
MIND Research Institute
PBS
New York State Technology Education Association
Platform Shoes Forum
Bentley Systems, Inc
Real World Design Challenge, PTC
PTC-MIT Consortium
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
National Council of Structural Engineers Associations
SouthEast Educational, Inc.
Entertainment Industries Council, Inc.
National Center for Simulation
National Science Resources Center
Cyberchase-Thirteen/WNET.org
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
Coalition
www.stemedcoalition.org
ASTM International
American Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Challenger Center for Space Science Education
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
California Healthcare Institute (CHI)
INSPIRE, Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning, Purdue
University.
College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ
Georgian Court University, Lakewood, NJ
National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical
Professionals
American Association of People with Disabilities
Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
Math & Science Institute at Arkansas Tech University
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
American Society of Plant Taxonomists
LearnOnLine, Inc
Hands On Science Partnership
Maryland Academy of Sciences
Association of Science Materials Centers
TERC
The University System of Georgia's STEM Initiative
McGraw-Hill
Michigan Technological University – Youth Programs
Museum of Science – Boston
National Center for Technological Literacy
SACNAS
National Organization for the Professional Advancement
of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers
American Indian Science & Engineering Society
ASTRA, The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America.
AWE Project (Assessing Women and Men in Engineering)
Aerospace Industries Association
Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)
National Science Center
Center for Excellence in Education (CEE)
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
National Coalition for Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC)
Exploratorium
3 M
American Geological Institute