More on David Reichard, president and CEO of Alluvion Staffing.
U.S. News and World Report: Northeast Florida Business Leaders, Educators Address STEM Skills Gap
STEM2 Working Meeting at MOSH
This is an article about the STEM2 working meeting at MOSH.
Florida Times-Union Lead Letter: Computer science needs to be offered in more schools
Imagine a field that is growing at such a rate that it is the top source of new wages in the United States, with 500,000 current job openings in every industry and every state.
Imagine that this field is projected to grow at twice the rate of all others.
We would want our children to have access to these economic opportunities. Yet in 2016, only 14 percent of Florida schools with Advanced Placement programs offered AP classes in computer science, a field that has more than 20,000 open jobs here and that offers an average salary $30,000 higher than the state’s average.
Even more surprising: Florida universities did not graduate a single new teacher prepared to teach computer science in 2016.
This school year, however, Northeast Florida has turned a corner in computer science education.
• In April 2016, Florida State College at Jacksonville partnered with Code.org, a national nonprofit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science. Through this partnership, this year FSCJ has trained 20 middle school teachers and 23 high school teachers in computer science education, reaching more than 2,000 Northeast Florida students with Code.org’s curriculum and course content.
• In the 2017-2018 school year, for the first time, Advanced Placement Computer Science is available at every public high school in Jacksonville.
Despite this exciting progress, our work is not done.
At the Northeast Florida Regional STEM2 Hub, we share Code.org’s vision that computer science should be part of the core curriculum in every school, alongside other STEM courses such as biology, physics, chemistry and algebra.
While Florida has clear course standards for computer science and certification pathways for teachers in the field, it does not yet require that all secondary schools offer the course.
Computer science isn’t just a vocational course, it is foundational for the world in which today’s students will live and work.
In a presentation to Northeast Florida educators, Code.org’s outreach manager for the Southeast, Don Miller, summed it up best: “Every 21st century student should have a chance to learn about algorithms, how to make apps, or how the internet works, just like they learn about the digestive system, photosynthesis or electricity.”
We need to open more students’ and teachers’ minds to the possibilities in computer science and its applications in other fields and nurture the problem-solving skills, logic, and creativity which are key to success in any 21st century pursuit.
Robert Copeland, former teacher of statistics, calculus and algebra at Stanton College Preparatory School, now is the executive director of the Northeast Florida Regional STEM2 Hub.
Edward Waters College to host regional qualifying tournament for First Lego League educational robotics
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Dec. 8, 2017 — Edward Waters College will cap off Computer Science Education Week activities this Saturday by hosting the “Tiger Den Qualifier” FIRST LEGO League tournament with Renaissance Jax, Inc.
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 9
8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Adams-Jenkins Sports & Music Complex
1833 Kings Rd.
Jacksonville, FL 32209
The 2017-2018 competition theme, HYDRO DYNAMICS, focuses on water: how people find, transport, use, or dispose of it. Guided by two or more adult coaches, FIRST LEGO League teams comprising up to 10 members in grades four through eight research a real-world problem related to the competition theme and are challenged to develop a solution. They also must design, build, and program a robot using LEGO software, then compete on a tabletop playing field. Twenty-two teams are entered in Saturday’s competition.
Students in EWC’s Department of Teacher Education and Urban Studies are supporting the tournament as volunteers and working toward training to coach robotics teams in communities surrounding EWC.
“By complementing its teacher education program with opportunities to support and lead activities like the Code.org curriculum, Computer Science Foundations, and the FIRST LEGO League, Edward Waters College is equipping a new generation of educators with tools to inspire teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking in their students,” said Kathleen Schofield, the STEM2 Hub’s K-12 program director.
“Edward Waters College is honored to host the Tiger Den Qualifier on our campus. This is great exposure of our campus and for our students and can be a gateway to cutting-edge research in our academic pursuits. We welcome this energy to our campus,” said Talia Ashley, Marketing and Communications Specialist for EWC.
“Our Department of Teacher Education and Urban Studies has worked hand-in-hand with our surrounding schools and the STEM2 Hub to encourage and engage our community in STEM and computer science experiences,” said Josetta Arnold, EWC’s STEM coordinator.
About Renaissance Jax, Inc.
Renaissance Jax is a non-profit organization dedicated to invigorating technology culture in Jacksonville, Florida. As an official Lego League Affiliate Partner for FIRST, we help Jacksonville-area kids and teenagers explore their love for engineering and technology in a fun, educational environment that promotes academic and career achievement.
About the Northeast Florida Regional STEM2 Hub
The Northeast Florida Regional STEM2 Hub represents an investment initially made by 15 companies headquartered in region. The mission is to convene, inspire, and invest in the STEM2 field by providing the essential missing elements to accelerate the growth of STEM2 education and careers in the 7 North Florida counties of Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns. For a list of the current corporate board members and more information about the STEM2 Hub in Northeast Florida, visit our website at stem2hub.org.
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