Tapping America's Potential

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News Coverage January 2010

January 20, 2010— Week —“President Unveils Projects to Boost Teaching of STEM Subjects”
Francis Q. Eberle, the executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, based in Arlington, Va., argues that Mr. Obama stands apart from other recent presidents in the extent to which he's personally highlighting the importance of STEM education. "What he's doing is saying, 'This is everybody's issue,' " Mr. Eberle said. "The louder he talks, the better we feel." "With the president shining a light, you get a whole new level of attention and excitement" for STEM education, added Shelly M. Esque, the vice president for corporate affairs at Intel and the president of the Intel Foundation. At the event, Mr. Obama highlighted some of the U.S. Department of Education's work during his administration to improve STEM education, but said government alone cannot meet the challenge. He touted a number of public-private partnerships.

January 11, 2010— Richmond Times-Dispatch (Opinion) —“Quality STEM education takes on new importance”
The world is changing rapidly, and many experts believe that the Information Age is coming to an end and the next phase of economic dominance will be by industries in the areas of biology and biotechnology. This, coupled with the advances in medical science and especially genomics/proteomics, will require at least a working knowledge of science by all Americans. It will be essential for responsible decision making both on a personal level and in the political arena. President Barack Obama recently recognized this shift in his six priorities for the Race to the Top initiative focusing on improving K-12 schools. The second priority gives competitive preference specifically to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

January 6, 2010— The Washington Post —“Obama Plans $250 Million Initiative for Science, Math”
President Obama will announce a $250 million public-private effort Wednesday to improve science and mathematics instruction, aiming to help the nation compete in key fields with global economic rivals. With funding from high-tech businesses, universities and foundations, the initiative seeks to prepare more than 10,000 new math and science schoolteachers over five years and provide on-the-job training for an additional 100,000 Fin science, technology, engineering and math. It effectively doubles, to more than $500 million, a philanthropic campaign for STEM education that Obama launched in November. Separately, the government spends about $700 million a year on elementary and secondary education in the STEM fields through agencies such as NASA , the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Education Department . But it's unclear how much federal spending can grow in a time of rising budget deficits.

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