A national organization dedicated to addressing the STEM teacher shortage, 100Kin10, announced that a SanDiego museum will join 40 other new partners this year.
In addition to the Fleet Science Center, the partners include the Chicago Public Schools and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
This is the seventh and final group of partners 100Kin10 named during its first 10 years.
The organization launched in 2011 as an answer to President Barack Obama’s call during his State of the Union address to train 100,000 new STEM teachers in a decade. STEM stands for “science, technology, engineering, mathematics.”
More than 68,000 teachers have been trained.
Supporting local STEM initiatives “is core to our strategic direction,” said Steve Snyder, President and CEO of the Fleet Science Center.
Officials from 100Kin10 have identified several factors contributing to the STEM teacher shortage. They include a need for bonuses, scholarships or loan forgiveness for teachers and state tracking of STEM teachers’ numbers.
“Each organization is doing incredible, inspiring work to build the movement for better, bolder and more accessible STEM education,” said Talia Milgrom-Elcott, 100Kin10’s executive director.
More than 280 partners – top academic institutions, foundations, companies and government agencies – are part of the 100Kin10 network.
– Staff reports