Please enjoy this week's STEM Ed update.
Coalition Update:
STEM Education Coalition Policy Forum Hosts Hill Briefing
On May 10, the STEM Education Coalition Policy Forum hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill. The briefing, entitled "STEM 101: Major Policy Issues for the 115th Congress," featured expert panelists Dr. David Evans of the National Science Teachers Association, Allyson Knox of Microsoft, Dr. Norman Fortenberry of the American Society for Engineering Education, Domenic Giandomenico of Project Lead the Way, Erik Peterson of the Afterschool Alliance, and James Brown of the STEM Education Coalition. Read more about the event here.
Stay in the Know:
Latest STEM Education Policy News Across the U.S.
A New Wave of Bills Takes Aim at Science in the Classroom
PBS Frontline
In Idaho, lawmakers removed references to climate change from the state's science standards. In Alabama and Indiana, they passed resolutions urging support for educators who teach "diverse" views on climate change, evolution and human cloning. And in Florida, the legislature on Friday adopted one bill that would give educators and students more freedom to express religious beliefs in school, and a second that would give residents new power to oppose classroom materials they dislike - including science textbooks. Read more  here.
Investing in America's Data Science and Analytics Talent
PWC
Today's tight market for data science and analytics (DSA) skills involves data scientists, but it extends much further to existing job classifications from the C-suite to frontlines-all of which are increasingly enabled by analytics.  And when we look at the talent pool coming out of American colleges and universities, too few are likely have the skills employers are looking for. Continue reading here.
Biotech CEOs, NIH Defend Research Spending at White House Visit
Bloomberg Technology
Biotech executives and the head of the National Institutes of Health met on Monday at the White House with Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials to defend government-sponsored research after the president's budget proposal sought deep cuts.  Read more here.
Will Elementary Science Reform Remain the Forgotten Stepchild of School Reform?
Change the Equation
Great science standards can help schools accomplish great things, but only if those schools spend time teaching them. That may sound like a truism, but that simple fact could hamstring efforts to improve science education across the country.  Change the Equation dug into survey data from the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for fourth-grade science and found that many of the nation's elementary school children were on a starvation diet of thin and infrequent science instruction. Read more the of study here.

Around the Community:
National Society of Black Engineers Spring Scholarships
The National Society of Black Engineers spring scholarship applications are now open.   Learn more about the available scholarships and qualifications  here .
Girl Scouts CEO Urges Young Girls to be Fearless in Science
CNBC
For  Sylvia Acevedo, interim CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, a degree in engineering wasn't an obvious path.
Today she encourages other young girls to consider STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and advises them not to be daunted by the fact that you could be the only girl in the classroom. Continue reading here.
The Quant Crunch: The Demand for Data Science Skills
IBM
In 2011, McKinsey published the report Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity which made significant workforce projections and said that by 2018 "140,000-190,000 more deep analytical talent positions, and 1.5 million more data-savvy managers are needed to take full advantage of big data in the United States". Read more here.
Join the Coalition!

 

We at the STEM Education Coalition hope you have enjoyed this week's edition of the STEM Ed Newsletter. 

 

Any organization may join the Coalition, and there is no cost to become an Affiliate Member. Affiliate members are listed on our website, receive periodic communications on policy matters, and will be signed up for the weekly newsletter. 

 

Your organization can also apply to join the Coalition's Leadership Council, where they play an active role in setting the public policy agenda for the Coalition and are invited to participate in frequent interactions with policymakers. 

 

If you would like to join the Coalition at any level, please read our message to prospective members or email us at info@stemedcoalition.org.

 

We appreciate your continued support and involvement. 
  

 

Our Coalition's Co-Chairs  

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STEM Education Coalition
info@stemedcoalition.org
2000 M Street NW
Suite 520
Washington, DC 20036
May 15, 2017
The Week Ahead:
 
5/16:
Remarks and Discussion with Chairwoman Virginia Foxx 
(8:30 AM)
American Enterprise Institute

(1:00 PM)
The Atlantic

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