STEM

Robotics and poetry aren’t an ordinary combination. But together, they represent one Pennsylvania district’s expansion from STEM to STEAM, adding an element of art to math and science.

Henrico County Public Schools officials announced plans Thursday for a middle school STEM specialty center tentatively scheduled to open next year at Short Pump Middle School. The three-year program focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics would be open to students throughout the county, officials said. The center would be able to accommodate about 50 students.

The best American K12 schools, many of them in the New York City metro area, are fully competitive with their peers around the world, even in math and science—though experts often tell us otherwise.

If you needed more proof kids are getting better and better with technology, look no further than Murdock Middle School, part of the Charlotte County Public Schools in Port Charlotte, Fla. Students there are earning the same certificates as professionals working in the high-tech industry.

After graduating from UC-Berkeley in 2002 with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Kevin Wang turned down industry jobs to teach in the Bay Area. A few years later, he got a masters degree in education from Harvard and then went to Microsoft to work as a software developer. But he couldn't stop teaching.

Stevenson High School seniors are using the newest technology in the video programming class to design Kinect body movement games for Xbox 360. Lake County high schoolers have the opportunity to become "not just users of technology, but creators of technology," said Joe Judge, who teaches the video game programming course at Lake County High Schools Technology Campus.

Many of us in today’s workforce had help from parents, teachers, mentors or peers in identifying what we wanted to become and getting started in our careers. Today’s students need the same kind of assistance to become the backbone of tomorrow’s workforce and our future leaders. The robotics competition can help.

Three Texas middle school students joined marine veterans and a team of surgeons on a 12-day expedition through the jungles of Central America. The expedition was part of a science education program called Exploration Nation, featuring real students applying STEM topics to the real world.

Students in southern Maine need a school where they can take rigorous, concentrated courses in STEM subjects. They need to be taught the skills they will need to survive and succeed in today's tough job market and excel in challenging, highly competitive college courses.