Please enjoy this week's STEM Ed update.
Coalition Update:
The Hill: A Decade Is Way Too Long to Wait
On Tuesday, Executive Director of the STEM Education Coalition, James Brown, along with David Evans, the Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association wrote an article for The Hill urging policymakers to fund Title II and Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) at the highest possible level. 
Upcoming Coalition Event:
Join the NSTA, the STEM Education Coalition, and STEMx for an ESSA Webinar on October 5, 2016
Join state leaders, teachers, and STEM professionals for a joint webinar on the new federal education law and its impact on K-12 STEM education, Wednesday, October 5 at 6:30 pm. Speakers during this interactive, 90 minute webinar--co-sponsored by the
National Science Teachers Association, the STEM Education Coalition, and STEMx-will discuss key STEM provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act, and how stakeholders can help to advocate and support continued STEM learning in their communities.
Read more here.
Top Article:
Lawmakers Spar Over Federal Overreach, Equity in House ESSA Funding Hearing
EdWeek
Republican lawmakers and local K-12 officials sharply criticized a U.S. Department of Education regulatory proposal they said would improperly meddle in school funding decisions, while Democratic representatives defended it as promoting greater equity for poor students, during a House K-12 subcommittee hearing Wednesday.  The proposed rules that Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. released last month concern how schools must show they are using federal funds to supplement other education funding, and not using it to fill gaps left by state and local budget decisions.
Read more here.
Stay in the Know:
Latest STEM Education Policy News Across the U.S.
John King on the Teacher Shortage, Homeschooling and ESSA
EdWeek
U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. thinks that the reasons behind current teacher shortages-highlighted in this recent report from the Learning Policy Institute-vary from region to region. Some states, particularly in the Northeast, have far more elementary school teachers than they can employ, King noted at a breakfast for reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. But those states don't have nearly enough teachers who are trained in math and science, or to work with English-language learners and students with disabilities.
Read more here. 
Free Coding Classes for Girls Grows, Gets Nod from White House
TechWire
With a shout out from the White House, the efforts to teach computer coding to more Kanawha County, West Virginia, girls expanded Wednesday, with plans for an initiative that started with just female students to further grow and, eventually, expand beyond women and Kanawha's borders. Ysabel Bombardiere, the volunteer instructor for a girls coding group that started early this year at the West Virginia University Extension Service office in Kanawha City, said she's started a new initiative, called Project Code Nodes, that will add - atop the Kanawha City group, where a new session of meetings started last month - three new free coding groups based in downtown Charleston, Institute and Rand.
Around the Community:
Apple Announces New Coding App is Available  
Apple is excited to announce that their learning and teaching materials for Everyone Can Code are now updated and available for download. Check out Swift Playgrounds, Apple's new app for teaching coding on iPad. And don't miss the new iTunes U course which includes video lessons for Swift Playgrounds. App Development with Swift is the curriculum that teaches those new to programming how to build their first app with Xcode. Visit Everyone Can Code to explore the story behind teaching and learning code with Swift.
Read more in the New York Times here and visit Everyone Can Code here.

Farm Bureau Foundation Supports STEAM Summer Camp
The Foundation recently sponsored the 2nd year of the USDA's "STEAM" summer camp for urban youth. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) partnered with the Governance Lab (GovLab) to host two separate two-week camps for middle and high school students. This camp strives to teach students how to use crowdsourcing and open data to make vital decisions in agriculture and food. Read more about the camp here.

Washington STEM Launches STEM Photography Competition 
Washington STEM, a non-profit in Washington State that promotes equity, excellence, and innovation in science, technology, engineering, and math for all students in Washington state, is launching a STEM photography competition in partnership with Getty Images and the UK campaign Your Life to repicture STEM. They want to see contemporary images of these topics which celebrate people of all ages and backgrounds engaging in them. The competition is open for all to enter.

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Deadline is October 10, 2016
In partnership with the Khan Academy, the Challenge invites students ages 13 to 18 to create original videos that bring to life a concept or theory in the life sciences, physics or mathematics. Each submission will be judged on the student's ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in the most engaging, illuminating and imaginative ways. One winner will be recognized and will be awarded a $250,000 educational prize. The science teacher who inspired the winning student will win $50,000, and the winner's school will receive a state-of-the art science lab valued at $100,000, designed in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory . The Breakthrough Junior Challenge winner will also be invited to the Breakthrough Prize ceremony on December 4, where she or he will be receiving the award during the televised show.
Read more here. 

Health Professions Week Is September 26-30, 2016
 
Health Professions Week (HPW) is a week-long event for high school students, college students, and advisors interested in learning more about careers in the health professions. HPW will include an online treasure hunt, on-campus events, and two virtual fairs. The entire event is free online for high school students, counselors, undergrads and advisors.
Read more here. 
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. 
  

 

Our Coalition's Co-Chairs  

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STEM Education Coalition
[email protected]
2000 M Street NW
Suite 520
Washington, DC 20036
September 23, 2016
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