PA STEM Vision Conference: Connecting Classroom to Career

Posted by Philadelphia Education Fund on May 5, 2014

CONNECTING CLASSROOM TO CAREER:

Career-Focused STEM Conference
Co-Sponsored by Philadelphia Education Fund

Pennsylvania education, business and policy-making leaders will gather May 9 to collaborate and reflect on best practices for students to apply their studies in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) towards careers in those fields.

The Philadelphia Education Fund through its Philadelphia Math + Science Coalition (Coalition) is partnering with ASSET STEM Education (Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching), No-win School District and the Pittsburgh Technology Council for a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics conference titled, PA STEM Vision Conference: Connecting Classroom to Career.

The conference will be held Friday, May 9, 2014 from 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the
David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

The Vision Conference will provide Pennsylvania education, business and policy-making leaders an opportunity to collaborate and reflect on best practices for student achievement, workforce development and cross-sector partnerships. Participants will engage in a STEM stakeholders panel, breakout sessions, an interactive forum, networking and more. The Coalition will also host a session on connecting businesses and schools that features its STEM speaker’s bureau and Explore STEM Philly, its series of instructional field trips for students.

Featured keynote speakers for the conference will be:

• Gamal Sherif, Educator, Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia
• Randall Dearth, President and CEO, Calgon Carbon Corporation
• Doug Jensen, Associate Vice President, Workforce Education and Economic Development, Westmoreland County Community College

Conference breakout sessions will cover a broad range of topics, from cross-curricular STEM integration to early childhood education to university/school partnerships. Participants will learn strategies for effectively equipping young people with STEM skills and for high-demand STEM careers in the state.

Last year’s conference attracted more than 500 educators, businesses and nonprofit leaders from across the state.

The mission of the Coalition is to foster a collaborative, city-wide STEM stakeholder community to coordinate resources that support preparation of all Philadelphia public school students to become productive citizens in a 21st century STEM economy.

The relationships between STEM student achievement, educators, and the surrounding STEM community are interdependent and part of a complex whole. The Coalition’s capacity goals reflect how it will best identify and leverage community resources to realize its educator and student impact goals.

The PA STEM Vision conference is sponsored by ASSET STEM Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant. Through this grant, ASSET is replicating, expanding and sustaining its proven standards-aligned STEM education program statewide through the establishment of strategically placed regional professional development centers/satellite sites, providing teachers in rural and high-needs schools with regional comprehensive professional development.

To register for the event, visit http://PASTEMConference.eventbrite.com

About Philadelphia Education Fund

Our vision all young people in Philadelphia will have the skills and opportunity to succeed in college and career.

Our work The Philadelphia Education Fund drives exceptional outcomes for all students by developing great teachers and paths to success in college and career.

The Philadelphia Education Fund is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of public education in Philadelphia. For nearly 30 years, the Ed Fund has worked to create opportunities for all young people through education — by developing and supporting great educators across the city and building the resources students need to succeed after high school.

The job of educating our city’s youth for success is too big for any one institution. As a trusted intermediary, we work with partners across sectors to grow impact for all Philadelphia’s children. The Ed Fund supports more than 16,000 students and 1000 teachers in schools across Philadelphia, and grants one million dollars per year in last dollar scholarships to low-income students attending college.

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