The STEM Education Coalition has issued a National Day of Action for all supporters of STEM education. The action will request the full funding of the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, a main source of funding of STEM education activities in the Every Student Succeeds Act that President Obama signed into law last December.
STEM fields are not only growing, they’re high paying. In the Forbes list of the 25 Best-Paying Jobs for Women, most were in a STEM field.
STEM is a critical area for our country because although Americans aren’t known for their math skills, math is foundational to all the STEM subjects, not just math itself: science, technology, and engineering.
National Day of Action
For the National Day of Action, the STEM Education Coalition is asking for your support by sending an e-mail, call, or tweet to your representatives in Congress “to request the highest possible funding for Title IV Part A, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant, under the newly authorized bipartisan†ESSA.
According to the STEM Education Coalition, 95% of the SSAE money will be distributed to districts where the money can be used to support STEM-related activities, including:
- Expanding high-quality STEM courses;
- Increasing access to STEM for underserved and at-risk student populations;
- Supporting the participation of students in STEM nonprofit competitions (such as robotics, science research, invention, mathematics, computer science, and technology competitions);
- Providing hands-on learning opportunities in STEM;
- Integrating other academic subjects, including the arts, into STEM subject programs;
- Creating or enhancing STEM specialty schools;
- Integrating classroom-based and afterschool and informal STEM instruction; and
- Expanding environmental education.
Your Representative in Congress
The STEM Education Coalition wants you to urge your representative in Congress to support a “full $1.65 billion funding in the final FY2017 appropriations bill.†From the STEM Education Coalition:
- Send a pre-written letter to your member of Congress via the STEM Education Coalition Congressional Action Center.
- Call or e-mail your representative’s office. Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress. A sample script can be found here.
- Send a tweet to your members of Congress.
- Read the press release on the Title IV/A National Day of Action here.
If SSAE isn’t fully funded, “teachers and districts in your state will be forced to make difficult choices about how to prioritize their funds.â€
If you care about STEM education in your community, contact your representatives in Congress today, or e-mail Lindsey Gardner (lgardner@stemedcoaltion.org) at the STEM Education Coalition if you have any questions.
Want to know more? Go to www.stemedcoalition.org, or call (202) 400-2192.