New York, New York, September 16, 2010--Change the Equation (CTEq), a Carnegie Corporation of New York-supported, CEO-led initiative to cultivate widespread literacy in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) was launched today at the White House.
The private sector initiative is comprised of more than 90 CEOs led by founding partners Xerox, Intel, Kodak, Time Warner Cable and former astronaut Sally Ride.
The initiative will mobilize corporate support behind improved STEM education for all American students by: 1) improving STEM teaching at all grade levels, and expanding and diversifying the pool of highly capable STEM teachers; 2) inspiring student appreciation for STEM education and careers, with a special emphasis on females and students of color; and 3) achieving a sustained commitment to improving STEM education from business leaders, government officials, STEM educators and others.
Read CTEq’s press release.
“I applaud the new corporate partnership and its commitment to the reality that all students can achieve at high levels in math and science,” said Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “Becoming expert in these disciplines is crucial if today’s students are to become tomorrow’s skilled workers, able to thrive in the new global economy and hence, preserve the strength of our democracy and continue to fulfill the promise of social mobility that lies at the heart of the American dream. In that connection, not only the private sector, but educators, students, parents, universities, scientists, mathematicians, and public officials at all levels must embrace a new understanding that the world has shifted dramatically—and that an equally dramatic shift is needed in educational expectations and the design of schooling.”
The partnership, which evolved from the Obama Administration’s Educate to Innovate project, is deeply rooted in the recommendations of the Carnegie Corporation of New York - Institute for Advanced Study Commission on Mathematics and Science Education report The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy.
The June 2009 report, which has been endorsed by education nonprofits, universities, unions, civil society groups, think tanks and other stakeholders, sounds an urgent call for a national mobilization to "transform mathematics and science education and deliver it equitably and with excellence to all students." It also recommends concrete actions by a range of organizations — from labor and business to federal and state government, schools and colleges, and donors. Opportunity Equation identifies the private sector’s role, in particular, as critical to closing the gap between current achievements in STEM education and the future knowledge and skill needs of students.
With an increasing number of U.S. jobs requiring STEM skills, more American students will need to seek out and receive quality math and science education to compete for these high-paying, knowledge-based jobs. Working together, the private sector partners will focus their efforts to prepare the next generation of innovators to meet America's 21st century economic, environmental and community challenges.
- Education
