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The Secretary’s Vision
On January 27, 2022, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona presented his vision for continued recovery through the pandemic and his priorities for broader investments in America's education system to ensure all students can succeed and thrive. Secretary Cardona emphasized key actions in four priority areas that will guide the Department's work over the coming months and years:
- Support students through pandemic response and recovery.
- Boldly address opportunity and achievement gaps.
- Make higher education more inclusive and affordable.
- Ensure pathways through higher education lead to successful careers.
You can watch the address on YouTube here and read the transcript here.
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Nominations
State educational authorities (SEAs) can submit early learning, school, district, and postsecondary institution nominees to be a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School (ED-GRS) between now and February 18, 2022. The Department will announce the 2022 selectees on Earth Day, April 22. Public health conditions permitting, honorees will be invited to send representatives to a recognition ceremony in Washington, DC in the summer. SEAs can find award criteria and other state implementation guidance
on the Department’s website and can contact U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools for more information.
The Schools Director’s Award is an additional recognition opportunity for the state education official who does the most to advance sustainable education in his or her state. Those nomination letters should be sent to ed.green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov by March 1, 2022. Read about the Director’s Award and ED-GRS Director’s Award recipients here.
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College Scorecard Updated
On February 7, 2022, the Department released updates to the College Scorecard that make the tool more useful for students and families weighing college options. The tool also includes new and updated information that may be beneficial to school counselors, college access providers, researchers, and other critical stakeholders. The Department improved the College Scorecard interactive web tool, in addition to restoring several metrics that help students gauge how their prospective institution compares to other colleges across costs, graduation rates, post-college earnings, and other metrics. You can read more details here.
National Defense Education Program (NDEP) Funding Opportunity
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) NDEP is seeking to strategically fund STEM education at 2-year institutions and Community Colleges (2YI/CCs) through a consortium approach. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) aims to enhance the STEM workforce through regional consortia which will develop and encourage STEM ecosystems between 2YI/CCs and 4-Year Institutions (4YIs), industry, local education agencies, and others in STEM education.
Activities should support the DoD STEM strategic plan and align to the 2018 Federal STEM Strategic Plan. The Department intends to award multiple cooperative agreements, subject to the availability of funds. The deadline for Letters of Intent and questions regarding this opportunity is February 22, 2022, to osd.dodstem@mail.mil, and the deadline for full applications is March 29, 2022, through grants.gov.
 Register Today
February 24, 2022 – Rural STEM Education: Opportunities, Obstacles and Resources, 1:00 - 2:30 PM ET, register here
Mark Your Calendar
March 25, 2022 – A Call to Action for Science: Best Practices
April 26, 2022 – Learning with NASA is a Blast
May 2022 – STEM Family Engagement
Recent Archives
January 19, 2022 – Think Globally, Teach Locally (resources from EPA)
December 9, 2021 - – Environmental Literacy (resources from NOAA)
November 30, 2021 – Energizing STEM (resources from Energy)
All STEM briefings and webinars are archived here.
Computational Literacy Webinar
Computational tools, practices, processes, and methods are reshaping the way mathematicians and scientists, including cybersecurity practitioners, conduct their work. Achieving a new literacy with computation is necessary for the future of learning and workforce development. The National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education (NICE) is hosting a webinar February 16, 2022, 2-3 PM ET that will discuss what computational literacy is, how we can nurture its advancement, and how it differs from computational thinking. Register here. Learn more about the NICE Webinar series here.
White House Announces Presidential STEM Awardees
On February 8, 2022, President Joe Biden named 117 teachers, mentors, and mentoring organizations as recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) and Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM). These awards honor the dedication, hard work, and important role that America’s teachers and mentors play in supporting learners who will be future STEM professionals, including climate scientists, mathematicians, innovators, space explorers, and engineers. Recipients of both awards are listed here. Watch PAESMEM announcement here.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook
The White House released the initial edition of its Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) guidebook to help state and local governments and other stakeholders unlock the benefits from this historic investment. The guidebook contains 12 chapters grouping BIL’s more than 375 programs by issue area: transportation (such as electric school buses); climate, energy, and the environment (such as lead service line replacement); and broadband. Future editions will feature critical dates, timelines for program implementation, best practices, case studies, and links to key resources.
White House Efforts to Attract STEM Talent
The White House issued a Fact Sheet outlining how the Departments of State and Homeland Security are taking new actions to advance predictability and clarity for pathways for international STEM scholars, students, researchers, and experts to contribute to innovation and job creation efforts across America. These actions will allow international STEM talent to continue to make meaningful contributions to America’s scholarly, research and development, and innovation communities.
 Global Climate Educator Resources
Last month, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that 2021 was tied with 2018 as the sixth warmest year on record. Collectively, the past eight years are the warmest years since modern recordkeeping began in 1880. To increase awareness and interest in climate science, NASA has developed a series of educator resources for all grades:
And don’t forget to check out the Sally Ride EarthKAM Mission (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a free STEM educational program managed by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. EarthKAM allows students to take images of Earth from space using a camera aboard the International Space Station. EarthKAM is a free teaching tool to study subjects ranging from geography to art to meteorology. Visit the website for details and to register to participate.
NASA, ED’s White House Initiative to Spur Entrepreneurial Spirit of HBCU Scholars
NASA and the Department of Education are collaborating to enhance the federal Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Scholar Recognition Program using NASA entrepreneurial expertise. Beginning in 2022, a NASA pitch competition for students at higher education institutions will officially become part of the HBCU Scholar Recognition Program, part of the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity housed at the Department. The competition will be a small-scale version of NASA’s Minority University Education and Research Program (MUREP) Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition (MITTIC).
Junior Solar Sprint Competition for Middle Grades
The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) has partnered with the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) to present the Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) competition. This free online competition will use Minecraft: Education Edition with 5th-8th grade students to create the fastest, most interesting, and best crafted solar-vehicle possible. Students will learn the basics of solar energy, physics and movement in vehicles; engineering design principles; and STEM skills like collaboration and communication from working in teams. Additionally, students will build technology and computer skills. Register your team today.
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Clean Energy Corp: Now Hiring
TheU.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Clean Energy Corps is focused on research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy solutions to the world's greatest challenge: the climate crisis. As the largest funder of clean energy technology in the country, DOE has led the way on the innovations in wind, solar, and energy efficient technology. Now, with $62 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA - Public Law 117-58), DOE’s Clean Energy Corps will be able to do even more. With a focus on deploying next generation clean energy technology, the Clean Energy Corps will help America meet its goals of a carbon-free power sector in 2035 and a decarbonized economy in 2050. Regardless of whether you are new to clean energy, or have been doing this work for years, DOE seeks new candidates as part of the Clean Energy Corps. Apply here.
Celebrate Engineer’s Week with the Department of Energy
Engineers Week starts February 20, 2022. Students can get advice in this profile from DOE’s archives about engineer Jennifer Hoynack, and check out DOE’s engineering programs like Argonne’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, Brookhaven National Lab’s annual bridge building competition, Sandia’s Athena Engineering Scholars Program, and more on the STEM Rising website.
Celebrate World Quantum Day World Quantum Day is April 14, 2022, and the National Quantum Initiative has developed numerous educator resources for you to use. The Q12 Education Partnership offers information about Quantum Information Science (QIS) careers, QuanTime educational activities, and a draft K-12 learning framework.
The Department’s Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) Transparency Portal now displays award and expenditure data by state for all four major ESF programs: ESSER, GEER, the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Fund, and the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) Program.
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