Coalition Supports Math and Science Partnerships Program
The Coalition sent the following messages to the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of the Math and Science Partnership Program at the Department of Education.
Thanks to all of our partner and member organizations for your support of this effort!
-James
James Brown
Executive Director
STEM Education Coalition
From: Brown, James (StemEdCoalition)
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2012 10:28 AM
To: Brown, James (StemEdCoalition)
Cc: Jodi Peterson
Subject: FW: Support the Math and Science Partnerships & the Shelby Amendment
Dear Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee-
As you prepare to meet this morning, we appreciate your consideration of an amendment proposed by Sen. Shelby to restore the cuts proposed to the Math and Science Partnerships program the Department of Education. We wanted to share the full list of organizations supporting this proposal below, as the list has nearly doubled overnight as many STEM stakeholders are eager to convey their support for the MSP program. Again, thank you for your consideration.
-James
Executive Director
STEM Education Coalition
Organizations Supporting the Shelby Amendment:
STEM Education Coalition
National Science Teachers Association
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
American Mathematical Society
American Society of Civil Engineers
ASME
American Chemical Society
Education Development Center, Inc.
Hands on Science Partnership
American Society of Agronomy
Crop Science Society of America
Soil Science Society of America
Campaign for Environmental Literacy
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Statistical Association
TechNet
School Science and Mathematics Association
Triangle Coalition
National Council for Advanced Manufacturing
Society of Women Engineers
Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education (CIESE) & Stevens Institute of Technology
ASHRAE
National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions (NASSMC)
Texas STEM Center Coalition
American Society for Microbiology
National Society of Professional Surveyors
Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
National Society of Professional Engineers
Stratford STEM Magnet High School
National Council of Structural Engineers Associations
Action Works
Engineers Without Borders-USA
EAST Initiative
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics
Next Steps, powered by Earth Force (formerly the Association of Science Materials Centers)
LearnOnLine, Inc
ecoCAD Design Group, LLC
Tech House
National Girls Collaborative Project.
Technology Student Association
American Institute of Physics
American Physical Society
The Optical Society
STEM Education Alliance at the College of William and Mary
Oregon State University
National Science Education Leadership Association
From: Brown, James (StemEdCoalition)
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 5:25 PM
To: Brown, James (StemEdCoalition)
Cc: Jodi Peterson
Subject: Support the Math and Science Partnerships & the Shelby Amendment
Dear Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee:
As you prepare to consider legislation to fund the Department of Education, the STEM Education Coalition and our partner organizations urge you to support STEM education as a national priority by continuing to fund the Math and Science Partnership program at its current level of $150 million. We urge you to support the Shelby Amendment, which would reverse a proposal to reduce the funding level for this program from $150 million to $99 million, end the formula-based nature of the program, and consolidate the remaining funds into grants awarded by the Department to a relatively small number of states.
The Math and Science Partnership program is program is currently the ONLY source of dedicated funding within the Department targeted exclusively at improving instruction in STEM subjects in the K-12 public schools that reaches each state. With these funds, every state administers a competitive grant competition, with partnerships of universities, LEAs, and non-profits all competing for resources to improve teacher knowledge in STEM subjects. In many states, funds from this program are the ONLY source of STEM-focused educational resources.
Our Coalition has always advocated for a balanced approach to the use of both competitive and formula-based funding mechanisms to promote STEM-related educational activities. By employing both strategies, every state will be provided with some level of support for STEM education needs, while larger competitive grants to individual states promote more significant innovations. By eliminating the only source of STEM-related funding that goes to every state, this balance will be severely upset, with more than 30 states potentially at risk of receiving no federal STEM-dedicated funding at all next year and beyond.
We urge the Committee to continue its longstanding support for the Math and Science Partnership program as a means of supporting STEM teaching and learning activities in each of the 50 states. Please support the Shelby Amendment, which we hope will garner broad bipartisan support. Further materials on the amendment are attached.
“But whatever we can do to dramatically increase the number of young people with a passion and a love and an excellence in STEM fields, our whole country needs that.” – Education Secretary Arne Duncan in 2012 before the House Education Committee [emphasis added].
A list of organizations supporting the Shelby Amendment is below. A May letter from our Coalition to the Committee highlighting this program is attached as well.
Respectfully,
-James
A list of organizations supporting the Shelby Amendment:
STEM Education Coalition
National Science Teachers Association
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
American Mathematical Society
American Society of Civil Engineers
ASME
American Chemical Society
Education Development Center, Inc.
Hands on Science Partnership
American Society of Agronomy
Crop Science Society of America
Soil Science Society of America
Campaign for Environmental Literacy
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Statistical Association
TechNet
School Science and Mathematics Association
Triangle Coalition
National Council for Advanced Manufacturing
Society of Women Engineers
Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education (CIESE) & Stevens Institute of Technology
ASHRAE
National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions (NASSMC)
Texas STEM Center Coalition
American Society for Microbiology
National Society of Professional Surveyors
Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
National Society of Professional Engineers
