School-Business Partnerships Target STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Subjects. Trained Workforce Crucial to Rural Economic Development
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| June 20, 2007 |  View for printing |
Amid corporate concern about what some perceive as a looming workforce crisis, efforts are under way to spur more businesses to follow the lead of companies such as Boeing. And school-business partnerships centered on the so-called STEM disciplines—science, technology, engineering, and math—are attracting particular attention at a time when companies are pleading with Washington to expand the federal H1-B visa program, which allows them to temporarily hire skilled workers from abroad.
Institute for a Competitive Workforce http://www.uschamber.com/icw/default
Toolkit for Effective Business Involvement in Education Reform http://www.biztools4schools.org/
Linking Education and Economic Development http://www.leed.org/
By Andrew Trotter
Full Story: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/20 ... iz.h26.html
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"Classrooms for the Future" to help "out-innovate" using technology to ensure our students are ready for the jobs of the future." http://matr.net/article-23493.html
Rob and Terry Ryan and Hamilton High School - a successful collaboration. "We want to keep our kids here. We want to make our kids better thinkers." What can you do to help? http://matr.net/article-22749.html
Four Ravalli County schools benefit from "The Valentine Foundation". 2007 Grant Applications due March 16. http://matr.net/article-22758.html
Small Companies That Try to Bring Innovative Technology to Teaching http://matr.net/article-24512.html
The 2010 Meltdown: Solving the Impending Jobs Crisis By Ed Gordon http://www.amazon.com/2010-Meltdown- ... /0275984362
Career Technical Education Critical for Success in Today's Economy. "Retooling Career Technical Education" http://matr.net/article-24539.html
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Report Urges Stakeholders to Address STEM Teaching Shortage
With a projected national shortage of more than 280,000 math and science teachers by 2015, key stakeholders must begin initiating strategies to recruit, retain and renew the nation’s teaching workforce, says a new report by The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF). The report provides a comprehensive action plan to transform the quality of the teaching workforce and address the growing shortfall of math and science teachers. According to the authors, the annual turnover rate for math teachers is the highest of all subject areas at 16.4 percent, followed by science teachers at 15.6 percent. In addition, U.S. students are losing ground to their international counterparts in math and science performance - areas imperative to American economic competitiveness. Recommendations fall under three key factors of recruitment, retention and renewal, recognizing the need to align and coordinate contributions from federal government, state government, school districts, higher education and business and foundations. Key recommendations include:
* Implement recruitment strategies such as scholarships, bonuses and differential pay, starting in P-12 and extending through graduate school;
* Strengthen the content and pedagogy of teacher preparation programs to ensure a capable science and mathematics teaching workforce;
* Expand strategies to attract talented individuals in STEM related professions to teaching;
* Develop and implement research-based induction programs for all new math and science teachers;
* Implement policies to address the leading causes of teacher dissatisfaction;
* Revamp teacher license renewal programs to incorporate measure of teacher effectiveness; and,
* Establish comprehensive statewide data collection systems that track student progress, teacher effectiveness and employment trends of mathematics and science teachers.
The report dedicates a section to promising strategies that summarize current practices and programs focused on teacher recruitment and retention. For example, the New York City Teaching Fellows program recruits mid-career professionals, recent college graduates, and retirees into the teaching profession and provides them with alternative routes to licensure. An industry-education partnership in San Francisco seeks to transform teaching and learning by providing teachers with industry and research-based professional development opportunities. The program is designed to help teachers understand the skills and knowledge their students need in the workforce. BHEF hopes to emulate the success of past influential reports that have spurred Congress to introduce legislation to support improved teacher preparation, professional development and recruitment incentives. An American Imperative: Transforming the Recruitment, Retention, and Renewal of Our Nation’s Mathematics and Science Teaching Workforce is available from BHEF at: http://www.bhef.com/
Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2007. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged. Please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected.
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Reader Comments:
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What is your state doing to address this growing concern? Are we adequately preparing the workforce for the future needs of current businesses and those that will be developed? We need an active discussion on this topic. Our future success depends on developing the best and the brightest to lead. Your comments added to this article are appreciated. Thank you, Russ --Russ
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This topic will be covered extensively in the comments of the two US Chamber speakers at the Montana Career Cluster Conference June 27-29 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell. Go to http://www.fvcc.edu for more details. --Joe
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I am an educational researcher specializing in how legislation and policy affect school reform. I have come across some great models for education - programs that also have an economic development twist. For the past year I have been pondering a few models and just yesterday I emailed the executive director of the TechRanch in Bozeman in an attempt to set up a time to speak with him about the need and the possibility of working with Montana’s high tech industry to, in turn, work with the legislature to develop a public high tech high school in Montana. I have the background knowledge in education to know some of the directions we could take and the pitfalls we may face, but it will be the business community that has the legislative influence to get anything done. If you receive any other comments about this, please feel free to pass along my name and contact information. Thanks, Jolee Barry Education Researcher and Consultant New Leaf Solutions, LLC 406-570-9255 jbarry@newleafsolutions.org www.newleafsolutions.org |
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MT School to Work in the late 90s made great bounds in STEM. Circle High School Entrepreneur class under the direction of Tara Hubing and Helen Murphy is a model program still ongoing. They run 6 businesses: video editing, an FM radio station, personalized product design - for Fort Peck Interpretive Center gift shop and area businesses,concessions,plasma cutting and car detailing. The accounting class keeps the books. Students do all the ordering of supplies & equipment. They have the latest technology and it's self supporting. Students high skills get them great jobs while working thru college. |
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Thanks for the information Peggy. If there are any stories about the program, I'd like to post them. Just got this information. Sounds like a very interesting program: "Montana Starbase Program One Step Closer to Reality. Targets the areas of math, science, and technology for 5th grade students who are typically underrepresented in these areas" http://matr.net/article-24521.html --Russ
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