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News Coverage October 2007

October 31, 2007 – Express News – “Students mostly not ready for math, science college courses”
A recent report, “Closing the Gaps,” by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shows that the state is continuing to fall behind despite warnings from educators and business leaders eager to hire skilled workers that something must be done. According to report, the number of undergraduates at public schools earning a degree in science, technology, engineering or math — often called STEM fields — has declined in the past three years, from 14,600 to 13,000. With the target of 24,000 STEM degrees by 2010, the trend line is headed in the wrong direction, and it's raising alarms.

October 30, 2007 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution - “GE pledges $22 million to city schools”
The General Electric Company’s charitable foundation has committed $22 million to boost math and science education in Atlanta so more students are prepared for life after high school. The multimillion dollar grant from the Connecticut-based company is the second that Atlanta Public Schools has received in the past year from a high-profile organization and the largest private investment in the system's history.

October 28, 2007 – San Jose Mercury News - “Knowledge-gap Initiatives”
Alarmed by the state of science education in Silicon Valley, corporations and foundations are promoting richer curriculum, importing successful programs and funding help for teachers.

October 23, 2007 – Hartford Courant - “State Gets $13.2 Million Grant For Math, Science Education”
Connecticut is one of seven states to be awarded a grant of up to $13.2 million from the National Math and Science Initiative's Advanced Placement training and incentive program. The grant will help fund training and incentive programs for AP and pre-AP courses and exams for the next six years. The new national initiative is a nonprofit

October 16, 2007 – Star-Ledger – “Science leader airs concerns”
America may be holding its own as a research powerhouse, but it isn't working hard enough to train future scientists and engineers, according to the head of the federal agency responsible for basic research. "Math and science education are the foundation of the 21st century work force," said Arden Bement, director of the National Science Foundation, speaking yesterday to dozens of educators from area colleges and schools at Drew University in Madison. "Your roles as educators who inform, instruct and inspire is critical to both the region and the nation."

October 13, 2007 – Seattle Times – “Math ‘course correction’ coming”
The Northwest Math Conference, attended by more than 300 teachers and educators from Oregon, British Columbia and Washington this year drew about 1,900 people, the most it has had in recent years, according to conference organizers. "This is the first time ever I've seen this much interest in math," said Joyce Frost, one of three copresidents who organized the event, and who has been a math teacher for 30 years. On Thursday evening, the conference invited a panel of executives from Microsoft, Intel and Boeing to discuss what kind of math qualifications job candidates need to be competitive in the workplace. The panelists talked about how few people are attaining degrees in math, science, technology and engineering to fill local jobs.

October 12, 2007 – Investor’s Business Daily - “A Lack Of Tech-Friendly Policies Means U.S. Could Lose Its Lead”
The U.S. risks falling behind other countries in technology innovation unless the next president works to shore up education, loosen immigration policy and bolster spending in R&D and broadband. That was the consensus of leaders who gathered at the University of California, Berkeley, campus to discuss the future of the U.S. tech industry in light of growing competition overseas. Innovation starts with education, said Laura Tyson, a professor at U.C. Berkeley's Haas Business and Public Policy Group and once the top economic adviser to President Clinton. Too many students are dropping out of school, and too few are studying math and science.

October 11, 2007 – InformationWeek - “H-1B Visa Foes Join To Pressure Congress On Green Card Reforms”
Two large tech industry organizations that don't see eye to eye on H-1B visa issues have joined together to urge Congress to put immigration reform back on their legislative radar screen. In a letter sent Thursday to the chairmen and ranking members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees on judiciary and immigration and citizenship matters, the IEEE-USA and Semiconductor Industry Association urged Congress for immigration reform this year that address several key issues, especially employment-based visas, or green cards. The letter said, "SIA and IEEE-USA both support legislation that will strengthen America's high-tech workforce."

October 12, 2007 – Education Week – “Math and Science Ventures to Be Scaled Up”
A pair of Texas mathematics and science education programs that have received widespread acclaim are now being promoted on a national scale, with the help of a new nonprofit organization and a major corporate contribution. The National Math and Science Initiative, a new nonprofit based in Dallas, has begun giving out grants to states to replicate the two programs, with plans to distribute a total of $125 million in the near term. The initial financing—an amount larger than the budget for many federal education programs—is being provided by ExxonMobil Corp., the worldwide oil and gas company. The goal is to spawn efforts modeled on U Teach, a program to train mathematics and science teachers at the University of Texas at Austin, and on Advanced Placement Strategies Inc., a program to increase student participation in college-preparatory courses through cash incentives and teacher training.

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