Columbus, Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland announced today that Ohio has been selected as a recipient of a $500,000 grant from the National Governors Association to fund science, technology, engineering and math education initiatives in Ohio.
“This crucial investment will help us invest in the education of Ohio's young people and help make us more competitive economically,” Strickland said. “Specifically, the National Governors Association grant will help establish a stronger Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) component in our education system and help give Ohio students a solid foundation so they are more prepared for the same field of study in college.”
The $500,000 grant will be used over two years to support a STEM network that will align Ohio’s various STEM initiatives and develop a more comprehensive agenda for the state.
The Ohio grant will advance the state’s vision to help all students become STEM literate, encourage students to achieve greater creativity and the ability to apply their STEM knowledge in various settings as well as nurture partnerships between education and the business sector to improve students’ career opportunities.
To achieve these goals, the state will establish a statewide network of regional STEM Centers, beginning with a “proof-of-concept” integrated STEM Center in the Dayton area. This center will enhance the research, economical development and employment prospects within two economic clusters.
The regional STEM centers will use STEM fellows -- experts from P-12 education, higher education, business/industry and research -- to work in teams to align P-12 STEM standards with the expectations of college and work, conduct professional development and mentoring for STEM educators, conduct a STEM Leadership Workshop for school leaders and superintendents, and identify internship and externship experiences for teachers and students. Over time, the initial group of STEM fellows will train the next group, which will continue to expand the capacity for STEM education throughout the region and state.
The Dayton region was chosen for its demonstrated success in public/private partnerships, its tie to industry clusters critical to Ohio and the existing educational assets within the region.
Five interrelated core objectives will be the foundation of the state’s STEM agenda. These objectives include developing and sustaining public-private partnerships to redesign Ohio’s P-16 STEM education system, aligning P-12 STEM education requirements and achievement with postsecondary and workforce expectations for such disciplines, seeking innovative new standards and curricula across STEM education, improving the quality of STEM educators and benchmarking the state's STEM performance to top-performing nations in STEM achievement.