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Proceedings of the Forum
The Forum was an outstanding success and many great ideas were generated:
- Program
- Call to Arms (Opinion by Walt Reil, published in Central Coast Family News)
- Contact List
- Central Coast Inventory
- Vision Statements
- Group Discussions
- Susan Helms - Keynote speech
- Event Photos by Dennis Eamon Young
- Photojournalism by Dennis Eamon Young at Cal Coast News
- Videos
Join the continuing Efforts
STEM Education Collaborative
Central Coast STEM Education Forum Event
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Time: 9 am till 3 pm
arrive by 8:30am
RANCHO EL CHORRO OUTDOOR SCHOOL
2450 Pennington Creek Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
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Speakers:
Lt. Gen. Susan Helms: Commander of the 14th Air Force (AFSPC), Commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space (USSTRATCOM) at Vandenberg AFB, and former NASA Astronaut
Chris Roe: CEO, California STEM Learning Network (CSLNet) and former
Deputy Director, Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), Wash. D.C.
Sponsored by:
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You are cordially invited to participate in the first-ever Central Coast STEM Education Community Forum.
Hosted by the Endeavour Institute of Santa Maria, the San Luis Obispo Discovery Institute, the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, Cal Poly's Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education, and others; the Central Coast STEM Education Forum will focus on what Central Coast communities and businesses should and can do to bolster and enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in K-12 schools. In today's highly challenging world of increasing foreign competition, America's, California's and the Central Coast's educational systems are reeling from major financial cuts, resulting in damaging reductions in teachers, classes and important STEM educational content. This is a critical situation for our nation, a major crisis looming for America's future economy and security.
This event will bring together professionals, business leaders, non-profits, STEM education organizations, and education, community and governmental leaders to discuss the condition of K-12 STEM education on the Central Coast and how we can develop a collaboration network to pursue grants, enhanced STEM education opportunities and experiences for children, and increased professional development training for STEM teachers from Paso Robles to Lompoc. In other words, a call-to-arms to communities to raise public and private awareness of the STEM education crisis.
There will be speakers in the morning session, followed by lunch. The afternoon session will feature roundtable breakout discussions on what we should and can do in developing action plans and ways of working together in accomplishing enhanced STEM education outreach, since K-12 schools are becoming increasingly unable to provide vitally needed STEM education.
Due to the lack of sufficient STEM education, Americans are facing very difficult times ahead in our state's and nation's educational system and business. For all practical purposes, STEM education does not exist in elementary school, which is precisely where there should be very strong, exciting and fun STEM education for the very young, impressionable minds, energizing them to want more. STEM education in grade's 7 through 12 needs serious bolstering. And, Central Coast families and children need more after-school, weekend and summer hands-on STEM camp experiences. Communities must begin taking strong and effective action, NOW, to face this crisis head-on, taking responsibility for what our state and schools are being increasingly hard pressed to do. The time has come for communities to work together in forging our nation's future through rigorous STEM education.
Please give serious thought to joining this very important collaboration as well as the Forum networking event devoted to improving STEM education inside and outside of our schools.
There will be no charge for attending this forum. Seating will be by invitation only.