Only 12 percent of all American students and 6 percent of minority students graduate from high school with the four-year sequence of math and science courses to be eligible for science or math based majors in college. Without such course preparation these students cannot succeed in college or compete for entry-level jobs in an economy fueled by technology. Many of these students become discouraged before entering the seventh and eighth grades and opt out of math and science courses at the first opportunity.

The United States has started to lose its worldwide dominance in critical areas of science and innovation, says the National Science Foundation, the federal agency that tracks science trends. "Science excellence is no longer the domain of just the U.S." Only 12 percent of all American students and 6 percent of minority students graduate from high school with the four-year sequence of math and science courses necessary to major in science or math in college. Without such course preparation these students cannot succeed in college or compete for entry-level jobs in an economy fueled by technology. Many of these students became discouraged before entering the seventh and eighth grades and opted out of math and science courses at the first opportunity.

America’s prosperity is driven by its science, engineering and technology enterprises. However, across the nation the percentage of state budgets designated to science and mathematics education does not meet the expectations for sustained economic growth. If the situation is to improve, America will need to increase its investment in science and math education and to reinforce technical literacy and competency of groups that make up the bulk of its emerging workforce. Demographics and the aging workforce indicate that groups, historically underrepresented in science and engineering professions, represent an untapped near-term pool and a tremendous underutilized national resource in the long-term.

Our principals have a combined record of 57 years in developing strategies to increase the number of underrepresented students enrolled in science and mathematics curricula and who successfully go on to major in science, engineering, or technology in colleges and universities throughout the nation.

The signposts of our record in education include:

·         Development and operation of secondary & college level engineering and science programs for underrepresented ethnic groups

·         Evaluation of statewide, regional, and national mathematics, engineering and science education programs, and

·         Facilitation of local industry/school system collaborations designed to provide teacher training, expanded corporate support, diversity, and academic achievement.

“There is growing consensus among the nation’s business, government and higher education leaders that unless schools do more to train and nurture a whole new generation of young Americans with strong skills in math, science and technology, U.S. leadership in the world economy is at risk.” Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, January 2008.

Almost all of the Fortune 1000 (Science, Engineering, Technology and Math) STEM executives (95 percent) are concerned that the U.S. is in danger of losing its global leadership position in science and technology due to a shortage of STEM talent, with more than half (55 percent) reporting their companies are already experiencing such a shortage. Diversifying the STEM talent pool is one solution to this problem, the Fortune executives say. Almost nine-in-10 (89 percent) agree that bringing more women and minorities into STEM fields will help solve this issue.

In science, 15-year-old American students ranked 16th out of the 30 countries tested by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In math, American kids ranked 24th. Furthermore, data from the 2007 National  Assessment of Educational Progress shows that only 32% of all eighth-graders were proficient in math while a mere 29% were proficient in reading.

Importance for Diversity in our S/E workforce

      Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) Project References:

• University of Houston – Program for Minority Engineering Students (PROMES) 

• University of Notre Dame – The National Center for Graduate Education for Minorities (GEM)  

• Sandia National Laboratory – Students Watching Over Our Planet Earth (SWOOPE)

• Glenn Research Center, NASA - Lewis Engineering Minority Recruitment  Initiative (LEMRI)

• Department of Energy's Environmental Education and Development (EM-522) Scholarship/Fellowship Programs University of Akron – Minority Mainstream in Science and Technology (MMST)

• Wentworth Institute of Technology – Massachusetts Pre-Engineering Program (MassPEP)

• NASA Headquarters – Reviewers of mathematics and science initiatives

• Ohio Board of Regents – Student Achievement in Research and Scholarship (STARS)

• Cuyahoga Community College – Middle College Program

• Bowling Green University – National Science Foundation evaluation