Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on September 16, 2011 at 4:08 pm
By Carol Wilner, AT&T Vice President of Federal & National Third Party Affairs
As a former teacher, I know how hard it is to capture the imaginations of kids as they move through elementary school through high school and beyond, and that is why I am thrilled that our most creative minds are attacking the challenge. We hope to help kids across the country get interested, involved and educated in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) by bringing the innovation of AT&T Labs to the challenge. President Obama has made this a key priority of his administration and has challenged us all – industry, government, academia – to work together to improve U.S. standing in STEM. We are proud to help respond to that challenge.
Our support for STEM is a natural extension of our commitment to help kids stay in school so they can succeed – the goal of our Aspire Program ($100M over four years). When we were asked if we would help chart the course for ways to take advantage of the explosion of new mobile broadband opportunities through smartphones, tablets, digital textbooks, we welcomed the chance to contribute to charting the path forward. All this new thinking will be focused on the Obama Administration’s new Digital Promise initiative, a new national center that aims to transform learning, particularly around technology, in America’s classrooms.
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Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on October 22, 2010 at 12:56 pm
By Charlene Lake, AT&T SVP, Public Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer
Here is one four letter word we want kids to embrace: STEM. At a time of great difficulty for our public education system, a diverse set of stakeholders including the government, educators, companies and nonprofits can agree that STEM —science, technology, engineering and math – is key to improving the country’s global competitiveness.
A new report by the President’s Council of Advisers in Science and Technology finds that the U.S. has extraordinary STEM assets that could be leveraged to revitalize student interest and increase proficiency in these subjects and, ultimately, promote jobs and economic renewal. Now if we can just use this information to get kids to jump on the bandwagon with us.
One of the best ways to motivate kids to take interest in STEM subjects is through hands-on activities. We’re not shying away from the opportunity. AT&T is particularly proud to be sponsoring the USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Taking place this weekend, the festival aims to expose children and families to new technologies that are strengthening communities, building the careers of tomorrow, and stimulating economic growth. The effort is also supported by a Department of Energy grant designed to promote sustainability as an overarching theme of the festival.
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Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on March 12, 2010 at 11:04 am
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” famous words from Rahm Emanuel early in the Obama Administration. Emanuel’s point was that a crisis is an opportunity to do things you thought you couldn’t do before and, at a recent education summit, Maine Governor John Baldacci quoted Emanuel in reference to our educational system, especially as it relates to high-risk minority youth. Obviously this Administration takes this issue very seriously and by looking at the number of high level officials who participated, they more than proved that commitment. The Departments of Labor and Education are fully committed to working with education experts and private industry to move this country’s education in the right direction.
Baldacci, board chair of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), spoke to more than 100 representatives from government, education and corporate America who were assembled for a Thought Leader summit to address at both the state and federal level: How to take strategies proven to work for high-risk minority youth to scale through policy and funding.
The statistics are staggering:
Nearly half of all African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans in public school will not graduate with their class. Among the developed countries, the U.S. ranks 18th in high school graduation rates and 15th in college graduation rates.
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