STEM for All announcement at Lloyd V. Berkner High School on May 16 “STEM for All” is the new motto being celebrated in Richardson ISD. In May 2018, the Texas Instruments (TI) Foundation announced a $4.6 million grant to Educate Texas to support Richardson ISD in creating a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) feeder pattern within the Lloyd V. Berkner High School attendance zone. With technical assistance provided by Educate Texas, this initiative supports 16 schools serving more than 10,000 students from 80 different countries. The intent of this “STEM for All” concept is to reshape the teaching and learning of these subjects across all grade levels to better prepare students for higher education and workforce success. As part of its Texas-STEM (T-STEM) designation by the Texas Education Agency, Berkner High School currently offers three STEM career strands for students: engineering robotics, aeronautical engineering, and biotechnology. In the 2018–2019 school year, the school will introduce two new strands: cybersecurity and STEM management. This effort builds upon prior grants from the TI Foundation to Educate Texas which supported a district-wide STEM model in Lancaster ISD from 2012–2018, during which Educate Texas was also the technical assistance provider. This strategy has resulted in the improved performance of students across the district, particularly African-American students, who outperformed their peers across the state in math. Because of the success of the Lancaster ISD STEM district, the TI Foundation and Educate Texas worked together again to assess candidates from other North Texas districts to extend the concept, resulting in Richardson ISD being selected after a competitive selection process. Learn more at edtx.org/RISDSTEMforall.
On June 26–27, with the theme “The spark that inspires,” Arlington Convention Center was transformed into a hub of learning for more than 650 school leaders representing more than 300 schools...
2.5 million jobs requiring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) credentials are predicted to go unfilled this year alone.