Current issues | Education - President's Stance on S.T.E.M.

President Obama launches Change the Equation
In one of my posts in January after we launched this blog, I mentioned the Education Special published in the September 2010 issue of EBONY Magazine. In the feature, President Obama cites the overall crisis with our educational system, somewhat of a prelude to one of his cornerstone issues mentioned in his 2011 State of the Union Address. Also during September, the White House announced via press release his plans to expand the “Educate to Innovate” Campaign and to launch of Change the Equation, a CEO-led effort to make strides in S.T.E.M.

The release states that Change the Equation is also a brand new NPO, a response from the business community to the President’s “call to action” at the National Academy of Sciences in 2009 to focus on S.T.E.M. education in order for the United States to compete in the modern global economy. Change the Equation is expected to replicate successful privately-funded programs in 100 high-need schools and communities, i.e. efforts to allow more students to engage in robotics competitions, improve professional development for math and science teachers, increase the number of students that take and pass rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) math and science courses, increase the number of teachers who enter the profession with a S.T.E.M. undergraduate degree and provide new opportunities to traditionally underrepresented students and underserved communities. Change the Equation will also create a state-by-state “scorecard” to highlight areas for state-level improvement, and help companies increase the impact of their own engagement in S.T.E.M. education.

This effort is supported by the usual suspects in the private sector arena – Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt (duh – TWC launched Connect A Million Minds in 2008!), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and more! $5 million is the funding allocation to kick-start the effort for the initial year of operation. There will also be public-private partnerships. President Obama and his administration are definitely putting words into action to create an impact with education!

Check out this White House video on S.T.E.M.