Triangle Coalition

The TCEB will next be issued on September 9 due tothe Labor Day Holiday.

TRIANGLE COALITION ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON STEM EDUCATION POLICY

Are you looking for an opportunity to network with other STEM education leaders? Do you want to gain a deeper understanding for the national issues currently facing STEM education? Then you do not want to miss Triangle Coalition's Annual Conference on STEM Education Policy, October 21-22, 2010 in Washington, DC. This year's conference, "STEM Innovation…Leveraging Business, Government, and Education," will bring together decision makers from around the nation to explore the present issues in STEM education and their implications for states and local communities. Attendees will have plenty of opportunities for networking to share ideas, experiences, and to build connections, including a networking reception on Thursday evening.

Breakout sessions will focus on today's leading issues in STEM education: common standards, Investing in Innovation (i3) grants, and future career directions in STEM. Panel discussions will cover the administration's STEM Education agenda for 2011, programs at the federal agencies, as well as the STEM academies initiative. Another session will address business-education collaboration opportunities. The conference will conclude with attendees meeting with Congressional delegates on Capitol Hill to discuss these key issues. Register here by September 1 to save 10% with the early-bird discount. If you are interested in supporting this conference as a sponsoring partner, exciting sponsorship opportunities are available here.

NINE STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WIN SECOND ROUND RACE TO THE TOP GRANTS

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced that 10 applicants have won grants in the second phase of the Race to the Top competition. Along with Phase 1 winners Delaware and Tennessee, 11 states and the District of Columbia have now been awarded money in the Obama Administration's education reform program that will directly impact 13.6 million students, and 980,000 teachers in 25,000 schools. The 10 winning Phase 2 applications in alphabetical order are: the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island. While peer reviewers rated these 10 as having the highest scoring plans, very few points separated them from the remaining applications. The deciding factor on the number of winners selected hinged on both the quality of the applications and the funds available.

"We had many more competitive applications than money to fund them in this round," Duncan said. "We're very hopeful there will be a Phase 3 of Race to the Top and have requested $1.35 billion dollars in next year's budget. In the meantime, we will partner with each and every state that applied to help them find ways to carry out the bold reforms they've proposed in their applications." A total of 46 states and the District of Columbia put together comprehensive education reform plans to apply for Race to the Top in Phases 1 and 2. Over the course of the Race to the Top competition, 35 states and the District of Columbia have adopted rigorous common, college- and career-ready standards in reading and math, and 34 states have changed laws or policies to improve education. Every state that applied has already done the hard work of collaboratively creating a comprehensive education reform agenda. In the coming months, the Department plans to bring all States together to help ensure the success of their work implementing reforms around college- and career-ready standards, data systems, great teachers and leaders, and school turnarounds.

SRI STUDY EXAMINES AFTER-SCHOOL LEARNING PROGRAMS

SRI International has announced the completion of an implementation study that looked at programming and the quality of instruction at 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The centers are part of a federal program originally developed to provide funding to school districts to support continuing education and lifelong learning opportunities. The program is the largest single source of federal funding for after-school programming for low-income children. Since 2002, the program has focused on providing before- and after-school and summer academic enrichment opportunities, particularly to students attending low-performing public schools. Working in collaboration with Policy Studies Associates, SRI researchers investigated the nature of academic activities, attendance, programming, and staffing among programs serving elementary school students. The study provides a first comprehensive look at academic programming and staffing in these centers since the program shifted its focus toward academics.

According to the findings, two-thirds of the centers reported that a typical student participated in reading activities and 60 percent participated in mathematics activities for at least two hours per week. Seventy-two percent spent at least two hours per week doing homework as part of center activities. The study found that instructors used a variety of research-based strategies in reading instruction, focused on a narrower set of skills in mathematics, and provided little science instruction. In mathematics, more than 80 percent of observed activities at all centers involved practice with basic facts. Instructors were found to be most likely to engage the elementary school students in tasks that required simple problem solving. "Although we found a clear focus on academics in centers, we found areas for improvement in the subjects of mathematics and science, which are critical for future success in the workforce," said William Penuel, Ph.D., director of evaluation research for SRI's Center for Technology and Learning. Fifty-five percent of the staff who provided instruction in reading or mathematics had been or were, at the time of the study, regular classroom teachers. The report findings suggest that there are three key challenges faced by all 21st Century Community Learning Centers: retention of high-quality staff, lack of updated information about students' individual needs, and low attendance rates. Researchers also found that approximately one-third of all centers reported that coordination with staff from the children's school was a challenge to implementing high-quality programming. The percentage was highest among nonschool-based centers. The full report, "21st Century Community Learning Centers, Descriptive Study of Program Practices," is available online.

20 STUDENTS NAMED 2010 DAVIDSON FELLOWS
With mounting concern about U.S. competitiveness and low student achievement in relation to other countries, conventional wisdom leads many to believe that the great inventors, artists, and innovators of the future will come from distant shores. However, 20 young people named as 2010 Davidson Fellows exemplify the extraordinary work that can be achieved by U.S. students who are given opportunities to excel. The Davidson Fellows Scholarship program, celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, has provided just over $4 million in scholarship funds to 166 Fellows since its inception. From studying the genetic factors affecting metastatic progression of prostate cancer, to researching the spread of epidemics, to developing a computer algorithm which improves contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the accomplishments of the 2010 Davidson Fellows, who range in age from 13 to 17, are a testament to effective teaching and mentoring, supportive families, and individual determination. Based on their achievements in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, music, and literature these 20 students will receive $50,000, $25,000, and $10,000 scholarships from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national nonprofit organization that supports profoundly gifted youth.

Each 2010 Davidson Fellow has worked tirelessly to obtain the resources that enable them to make advances in their fields. Unfortunately, not all gifted students get the support they need according to the Fordham Institute's 2008 study, "High Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB." The findings show that top pupils have "languished" academically. In addition, a national teacher survey found that while most teachers believe all students deserve equal attention, advanced pupils are a lower priority in their schools, receiving dramatically less attention than low-achievers. "Our goal is to not have any student left behind," said Jan Davidson, Ph.D., co-founder of the Davidson Institute. "We applaud the tenacity of these and other profoundly gifted young people, who often take it upon themselves to gather the resources they need to succeed." For more information on the Davidson Institute, or to learn more about the 2010 Davidson Fellows, visit www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows.

NCES EXAMINES TEACHER ATTRITION AND MOBILITY

Among teachers who left teaching in 2008-09, about 5.3 percent of public school teachers left because their contract was not renewed, compared to 13.0 percent of private school teachers whose contract was not renewed. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released the "Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results From the 2008-09 Teacher Follow-up Survey." The report presents findings about teacher mobility and attrition among elementary and secondary school teachers in grades K-12 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Teacher Follow-up Survey examines the characteristics of those who stay in the teaching profession and those who leave, including retirees. The survey also allows comparisons of the characteristics and opinions of teachers who remain at the same school the following year with those of teachers who either move to a different school or leave the profession. Other findings include:

Of the 3,380,300 public school teachers who were teaching during the 2007-08 school year, 84.5 percent remained at the same school, 7.6 percent moved to a different school, and 8.0 percent left the profession during the following year.
Among public school teachers with 1 to 3 years of experience, 77.3 percent stayed in their base-year school, 13.7 percent moved to another school, and 9.1 percent left teaching in 2008-09.
Among private school teachers with 1 to 3 years of experience, 72.2 percent stayed in their base-year school, 7.2 percent moved to another school, and 20.6 percent left teaching in 2008-09.
Among public school teacher movers with 4 or more years of teaching experience, 55.3 percent moved from one public school to another public school in the same district and 42.3 percent moved from one public school district to another public school district between 2007-08 and 2008-09.

STEM PERCEPTION GAP AMONG US KIDS REVEALED

Time Warner Cable has announced the launch of CAMM Worldwide, a new effort to explore differences in attitudes toward math and science between young people in the U.S. and their peers around the world. The campaign is part of Connect a Million Minds (CAMM), Time Warner Cable's (TWC) philanthropic commitment to connect youth to ideas, people, and opportunities that will inspire them to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The goal of CAMM Worldwide is to put a human face on a very sobering statistic -- the U.S. ranks 35th in math and 29th in science worldwide. And to better understand how young Americans' views on these academic subjects contribute to the low rankings. This past spring, TWC conducted interviews with groups of young people, ages 12-16, in the U.S. and three countries that rank significantly higher in math and science literacy -- Finland, China, and Australia. Each group also included a small number of parents and teachers. Interview subjects in all four countries were asked the same questions.

"What we heard in our interviews was that youth from outside the U.S. take it as a given that if they want to be successful in life, they have to do well in math and science, said Ellen East, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer. "We did not hear this from the U.S. students," she continued. "Outside the U.S., young people were more aware that they will compete in a global marketplace. There was also much less of a social stigma attached to being smart and doing well in school in other countries. In fact, the smart kids are considered cool." To highlight this issue and spark a public dialogue, TWC edited the interviews into on-air PSAs, and exclusive web video content, to continue the conversation online at www.connectamillionminds.com.

PCS EDVENTURES ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH STEM ACADEMY

PCS Edventures, a provider of K-16 educational programs utilizing hands-on manipulatives, computer technology, and robotics that focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), have announced a partnership with STEM Academy to supply robotics materials and curriculum for 6th and 8th grades within schools in the STEM Academy network. The STEM Academy is a new, national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving K-12 STEM literacy. The STEM Academy curriculum was collaboratively developed by K-12 teachers, university educators, industry partners, vendor partners such as PCS, and engineering and biomedical professionals, to deliver a powerful STEM learning experience to students. Through close educator collaboration, special consideration has also been made to ensure the engagement of the minority student population, a special focus of the STEM Academy solution. The STEM Academy network of schools launches this fall. Nearly 700 schools have already submitted letters of intent to join the STEM Academy network and are collaboratively seeking funding solutions with the STEM Academy.

PCS will provide robotics courseware and lab materials for STEM Academy students at the 6th and 8th grade levels, while providing teacher training and support as necessary for educators as they come online with the program. PCS content will be digitally enhanced and delivered through the STEM Academy Learning Management System (LMS), which has tracking and assessment features to validate student outcomes. Performance data will be shared with PCS to facilitate ongoing improvements and enhancements to the PCS content.