| Please enjoy this week's STEM Ed update. |
| Coalition Update: |
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STEM Ed Coalition Announces Budget Priorities for FY17 Budget
 Last week, the STEM Ed Coalition issued its final letter to appropriators on the FY17 budget. The letter included the Coalition's budget priorities and specific recommendations regarding funding priorities at the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation.
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New Bill Would Encourage, Support Women and Minorities in STEM Fields
The Seattle Times
 The small numbers of women and minorities going into high-paying science and tech fields has long been a concern among educators and policymakers. A new bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray would authorize grants for outreach, mentoring and professional development programs that encourage women and minorities to enter STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.
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Stay in the Know:
Latest STEM Education Policy News Across the U.S.
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Educators Face the Next Generation of Tests
The Huffington Post
Last year was the second year Alabama stud
 ents in grades 3 through 8 took the ACT Aspire, which is a test that purports to map whether students are on track to be prepared for the ACT exam. ACT, of course, is one of the exams colleges use for admissions decisions.
Aspire is thus quite different from the other "new generation tests" - Smarter Balanced and PARCC. Both those tests were explicitly developed to test whether students are mastering the grade-level standards spelled out in Common Core State Standards. And a recent
study by the Fordham Institute found that they do a pretty good job of it.
Read more here.
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New York Is In For a Sea Change in Education Policy. Here's What and Why.
Washington Post
 Something big has happened in New York, something potentially huge. A new education chancellor was named, and, on April 1, a new direction for public schools could start to be forged. In this post, Carol Burris, a former New York high school principal who is now executive director of the nonprofit Network for Public Education, introduces you to the new chancellor and analyzes the legacy of the one who is soon departing. Burris was named the 2010 Educator of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State, and in 2013, the same organization named her the New York State High School Principal of the Year. She has been chronicling botched school reform efforts in her state for years on this blog, and this is her newest piece.
Read more here.
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What to Expect Out of John King, US Secretary of Education
 Huffpost Education
On March 14, 2016, the US Senate confirmed John King as the next US Secretary of Education. In December 2015, Senator Lamar Alexander told President Obama to nominate someone and that he (Alexander) would "make sure he was confirmed."
Sure enough, that is what happened.
According to Alexander, his push for a Senate-confirmed US ed secretary is to have that person officially accountable to the Senate as Alexander's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is implemented in schools beginning with the 2016-17 school year.
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Around the Community
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Science Center Announces 10 Carnegie Science Award Winners
Carnegie Science Center today announced 10 Carnegie Science Award winners in recognition of their regional achievements in science and technology. Awardees will be honored during a formal celebration at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland on Friday, May 6, 2016. Awardees in education categories will be announced next week. Three student winners, who will be selected at the Science Center's 77th annual Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair, will be announced later this month.
Open Seats Remain in the Nation's First and Only Master's Degree in Pharmacogenics
Manchester University in northeast Indiana has a limited number of seats remaining in the nation's first and only dedicated master's degree in pharmacogenics. Classes begin May 17, 2016, in the intensive one-year program. A second one-year class will begin May 2017, and there is rolling enrollment. It is open to those with an undergraduate degree in science.
Space Frontier Foundation Hosts Annual NewSpace Conference in Seattle
The Space Frontier Foundation will host its annual NewSpace conference in Seattle this year for the first time ever - a testament to the region's booming aerospace industry. NewSpace is the only conference that brings together the three pillars of the space industry - startups, established companies and government agencies - with private investors and tech innovators. Featured speakers this year include Charles Beames (Vulcan Aerospace), Rob Meyerson (Blue Origin) and Dona Sarkar (Engineering Lead, Microsoft) among many others.
Read more here.
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| Join the Coalition! We at the STEM Education Coalition hope you have enjoyed this week's edition of the STEM Ed Newsletter. Any organization may join the Coalition, and there is no cost to become an Affiliate Member. Affiliate members are listed on our website, receive periodic communications on policy matters, and will be signed up for the weekly newsletter. Your organization can also apply to join the Coalition's Policy Council, where they play an active role in setting the public policy agenda for the Coalition and are invited to participate in frequent interactions with policymakers. If you would like to join the Coalition at any level, please read our message to prospective members or email us at [email protected].
We appreciate your continued support and involvement.
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| Our Coalition's Co-Chairs -------------------------------------------------------------
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April 11-14, 2016
National Summit for Educational Equity
April 21, 2016
STEM as a Career Option for GI Bill Recipients with Disabilities Webcast
April 23, 2016
DIG STEM Festival 2016
May 14, 2016
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