YOU Belong in STEM
Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten announced the YOU Belong in STEM initiative at STEMconnector’s Innovating for the Future Summit on October 12, 2022. This initiative aims to improve STEM education outcomes by advancing a sense of inclusion and belonging in STEM for all students and teachers and has three primary goals:
- Support STEM educators by strengthening opportunities to join, grow, and stay in the STEM teaching field.
- Help ensure all Pre-K-Higher Education students have access to, and benefit from rigorous, relevant, and joyful STEM learning.
- Encourage education and youth-serving systems and organizations to invest American Rescue Plan and other federal, state, and local funds in STEM education.
You can follow YOU Belong in STEM activities and updates at www.ed.gov/stem.
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Register Today: Public Health and STEM at the CDC
November 15, 2022, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST
Please join the Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to learn about their STEM-related resources for students, teachers, and early career professionals. CDC’s goal is to help educators bring public health to the classroom to foster educational excellence and inspire the next generation of STEM learners to pursue public health careers. More details located in the attachment.
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Advancing Digital Equity
During the National Digital Equity Summit, Department’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) launched Advancing Digital Equity for All: Community-based Recommendations for Developing Effective Digital Equity Plans to Close the Digital Divide and Enable Technology-Empowered Learning. This resource provides recommendations for equitable broadband adoption to support leaders crafting digital equity plans, an aspiration that became an emergency for many schools and families during the pandemic. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed earlier this year supports that goal, allocating $2.75 billion under the Digital Equity Act to ensure that all people and communities can reap the full benefits of the digital economy. View the Digital Equity summit here.
STEMIE Fest 2022
Registration is now open for STEMIEFest on December 8, 2022. STEMIEFest is a gathering of families, early childhood and early childhood special education professionals, faculty, and others, to engage in innovative and inclusive STEM learning experiences as well as explore and develop a model to support young children with and without disabilities in early STEM learning. This year’s event will be a half day virtual event and it will be followed by a series of targeted professional development opportunities in 2023. STEMIE is a Department-funded research center.
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NAEP Scores Released – Department Announces “Raise the Bar” Series
On October 24, the Department released the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2022 results. Nationally, the average mathematics score for fourth-graders fell five points since 2019 (from 241 to 236), while the score for eighth-graders dropped eight points (from 282 to 274). Review the NAEP Mathematics Report Card to explore the full set of student performance results and information about students’ learning experiences inside and outside of school.
Secretary Miguel Cardona said, in response to the release, “The (NAEP) results … are appalling, unacceptable, and a reminder of the impact that this pandemic has had on our learners. The data also represent a call to action for the important work we must do now for our students—especially those who have suffered the most during the pandemic.”
The Secretary spoke with parents the following day and said, “We need to maintain urgency – and we have to change the conversation from going back to what we had before the pandemic to doing better for our children. If we do what we’ve done, we’re going to get what we’ve gotten.”
The Department announced that it will host five Raise the Bar sessions focused on strategies and programs to boost literacy and math outcomes. The Department also issued an updated guide further re-enforcing the key strategies districts and states should use to address learning loss and academic recovery, with additional resources over the coming weeks.
Creating an OST Makerspace Training Module
The You for Youth’s (Y4Y) newest microlearning opportunity, Creating a Makerspace: Training to Go, provides out of school time (OST) programs with tools to develop an effective makerspace by understanding OST learners, evaluating existing program offerings and school-day curricula, considering global trends and best practices, developing a theme, and gathering your resources. Y4Y is a free online professional learning and technical assistance portal for Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant programs and is an open resource.
“Grow-Your-Own” to Diversify the Teacher Workforce
Institute of Education Sciences (IES) David Blazar writes in this IES Blog about his grant to research recruitment and workforce development strategies being used to diversify the teacher workforce. He is particularly interested in increasing the supply and placement of Black teachers who are underrepresented in U.S. schools. This is especially true in STEM classrooms.
Their analysis aims to provide some of the first quantitative data linking the rollout of varied recruitment strategies and the workforce decisions of prospective Black teachers. They plan to provide important guidance not only about how best to intervene but also when to do so.
Fact Sheet for Career and Technical Education
As schools help students address lost instructional time, high-quality CTE programs can be a powerful tool to boost student engagement and on-time graduation. So, the Department released a new fact sheet highlighting ways states and school districts are using American Rescue Plan funds to reengage students and enhance academic learning by expanding career and technical education (CTE) opportunities. And this Homeroom blog post for students, families and educators details how CTE programs are preparing students for in-demand career pathways by providing opportunities for hands-on experiences and instructional time.
Presidential Cybersecurity Education Awardees
The Department announced the 2022 recipients of the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award, kicking-off Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week. Benjamin Dougherty, of Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio, and Robert “Allen” Stubblefield, Jr., of Troy High School in Fullerton, California, were selected as awardees for instilling in their students the skills, knowledge, and passion for cybersecurity.
Dougherty connected a highly technical, student-centered curriculum to strong recruitment and retention metrics, reaching 200 students since 2019, and achieving impressive results in national competitions including National Cyber League and CyberStart America. Students in his program are currently employed in work-based learning positions in the banking and aviation sectors, among other industries.
Stubblefield is a Cyber Defense educator who served in the U.S. Navy for 21 years before beginning his teaching career. Over the past 12 years, he has coached 486 middle school students in CyberPatriot competitions and 327 elementary students through summer camps. Stubblefield has offered financial and other support to make his program accessible to students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds.
They, along with other recent award recipients, will be honored during the 2022 NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference.
STEM Grantee Spotlight
One of the Department’s Education and Innovation and Research (EIR) grantees, Project SYNCERE, was selected as one of 10 STEM Trailblazers in Ebony Magazine’s 2022 Power 100 list. Recognizing the difference STEM made in their own lives, Seun Phillips, Jason Coleman, and George Wilson left their corporate jobs in 2008 to co-found Project SYNCERE and deliver that same impact to others. Providing opportunities for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in STEM, especially in communities plagued by gun violence, they’ve exposed 20,000 students and counting to STEM-related fields. Of those students, 83 percent reported an increased awareness and knowledge of STEM and 100 percent of their E-Cademy graduates went on to post-secondary STEM programs. The team works with public schools on the west and south sides of Chicago with high needs students offering their ENpowered middle school enrichment program, which provides students with a project-based curriculum to increase their interest in and understanding of engineering. Congratulations!
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Investing in Next Generation Education Technologies
The Department’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, administered by the IES and known as ED/IES SBIR, funds entrepreneurial developers to create and evaluate the next generation of technology products for students, teachers, and administrators in education and special education. IES recently announced their new 2022 awardees. One trend that emerged, particularly in the STEM-related projects, is the focus on experiential and hands-on learning that combines hardware and software solutions to engage students through pedagogies employing game-based, hands-on, collaborative, or immersive learning. The list of all awards from the program is posted here.
Supporting Effective Educator Development Grants
The Department announced new awards to further address the teacher shortage and help ensure long-term investments in teacher pipeline and development programs across the country. New investments under the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program, include 22 new three-year grants, including several with a STEM emphasis, totaling more than $60 million. The Department directed competitive grant funding to projects designed to support educator workforce through high-quality, comprehensive teacher preparation programs, including those with a strong track record of recruiting and placing underrepresented teacher candidates, and that include one year of high-quality clinical experiences.
STEAM Daydream Podcast
The National Children's Museum launched a second season of the children's podcast STEAM Daydream with National Children's Museum. Each of the season's eight episodes is led by a young innovator, who—with the help of content experts from across the country—solves an everyday STEAM mystery aligned to science standards and classroom content. Funded in part by the Department and developed by museum educators for classrooms grades 1-5, each 20-minute episode empowers young listeners to ask big questions about important STEAM topics. The STEAM Daydream podcast fosters young learners' curiosities and challenges them to think critically about the world around them.
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Teacher Video Showcase
The NSF-funded STEM Teacher Leader Network invites you to view the new teacher video-showcase that illustrate the impact of STEM Teacher Leaders in advancing Policy; Professional Development, Student Engagement; Pedagogy, Curricular Innovation; School Culture and Equity and Inclusion. Anytime during this free, 9-day virtual event, viewers are invited to view, discuss, and vote throughout November 7-15, 2022.
NASA TEAMS – Funding Opportunity Extended
NASA Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) is accepting proposals through November 14, 2022 for the new Community Anchor Awards for TEAM II (ANCHR) designed to support institutions in strengthening themselves as a local NASA STEM informal education community resource. Selected parties will offer NASA education directly aligned with space exploration, aeronautics, space science, earth science, or microgravity. Eligible proposers include U.S. non-profit science museums, planetariums, youth-serving organizations, and libraries. See more information here.
Naval Horizons Essay Contest
Naval STEM is excited to announce the launch of Naval Horizons! This student essay contest introduces students to cutting-edge STEM topics that impact the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps through an engaging video series. The STEM topics introduced in the video series include environmental science, aerospace optometry, autonomy and more! Students are invited to watch the videos to learn about Naval STEM challenges and the scientists and engineers tackling them. Then students are tasked to write an essay explaining how the research presented in the video and the STEM professional inspired them and their thoughts on the future of the STEM topic. Up to 5,000 winners will be selected and receive a $200 cash prize. The submission period for the contest is officially open, and essays will be accepted until November 28, 2022.
Clean Energy Funding for K-12 Schools
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a new funding opportunity to mitigate the historic inequity of school facilities investments, reduce school energy costs, and create well-paying jobs. The $500 million program will kick off with two opportunities: the Renew America’s Schools Grant and the Energy Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools (CLASS) Prize. The first round of grants will provide up to $80 million to help schools lower utility costs, improve indoor environmental quality, and reduce carbon emissions by supporting school facility upgrades across the country. The $4.5 million CLASS Prize will support energy efficiency and indoor air quality upgrades in schools by helping districts train and staff energy management positions. Funds will focus on rural and high-poverty K-12 school districts. Learn more about the first round of funding that will be available later in 2022.
President’s Environmental Youth Award
EPA has opened the application period for the 2023 President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) program and the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE). The PEYA program recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects by K-12 youth, promoting awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encouraging positive community involvement. The PIAEE recognizes outstanding kindergarten through grade 12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for student learning. Applications for both programs are due January 11, 2023.
Art x Climate
Art x Climate seeks to strengthen partnerships between science and art and demonstrate the power of art to advance the national conversation around climate change. The U.S. Global Change Research Program, in collaboration with Smithsonian Institution, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, invites artists to engage in the development of the Fifth National Climate Assessment by creatively visualizing climate change in the United States: its causes, impacts, and manifestations; our shared vulnerabilities; and the strength of our collective response.
Selected art submissions will be featured in the Fifth National Climate Assessment as chapter covers and within the chapters. Selected artworks may also be used in case studies, in public events, or in communication materials. There are two calls, one for artists ages 13–17 and one for artists 18 and up. Artists who wish to submit their works must do so by January 27, 2023.
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Transforming Education Student Survey
The World’s Largest Lesson (WLL), NatApp, and their partnership with UNICEF and UNESCO, are empowering students globally to realize the power of data as they become advocates for quality education. This year’s WLL campaign is offering the first ever global, playful survey that allows students (ages 10 – 18) to share their views and ideas for education. Students will be asked about the purpose of education, how they learn best, and what they would change and improve for the future. The student survey is anonymous, only takes 10 minutes, and is available on and offline so that everyone can share their ideas. WLL offers a related lesson plan on Becoming a Factivist. The goal is to engage as many 10-18 year-olds in a data learning experience where they can demonstrate the power of data and share their voices for change. The student survey is open until January 31, 2023.
New NSF Directorate for STEM Education
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced changes to the names of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources and the Division of Human Resource Development. To more accurately reflect and communicate the values and totality of the agency’s work with STEM education including supporting the missing millions — Americans from every background, in each state, who have the potential to participate in STEM — the directorate will now be known as the Directorate for STEM Education, or EDU, and the division will be known as the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM, or EES.
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Nominate the Next Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) administers Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), created by Congress in 1983, on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The awards are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of STEM, including Computer Science. This year's (2022-2023) awards will honor science, technology, engineering, or mathematics teachers working in grades 7-12. Nominations close on January 9, 2023. Applications must be completed by February 6, 2023.
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COVID Boosters
The Biden Administration announced its Plan to get Americans their updated COVID-19 vaccine shot this fall. The updated vaccine provides the strongest available protection from the Omicron strain of the COVID virus, which did not exist when the original vaccine was developed. Everyone age 12 years and older is eligible for these updated vaccines if it has been at least two months since completion of their primary vaccination series or their most recent booster.
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