Fostering success for STEM education in California

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are vital educational disciplines for California. In today's world, all residents make important decisions for themselves and their communities that impact climate change, research and development opportunities, the success or failure of new technologies and businesses, and more. Sound decision making at the ballot box or simply during the course of a regular day, hinges on the extent to which California's education system has provided opportunities for the development of basic STEM literacies. California's continued ability to field a talented and globally competitive S & E workforce also depends upon efforts to increase educational participation and success rates at each step along the P-20 educational continuum, and concerted efforts to attract more of the state's diverse students into STEM disciplines and careers.

The goal of the California STEM Innovation Network (CSINet) is to promote scientific, technical and quantitative literacies to strengthen K-14 STEM college and career pathways for students in order to create the workforce needed to compete globally in the 21st century and to create a STEM savvy culture within California. Through a grant funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, a statewide planning effort is underway to create a California STEM Blueprint that will describe key goals, initial strategies and partnerships, methods for assessing progress towards agreed upon goals, and the process that will be used to ensure that the "blueprint" is updated periodically to reflect what is being learned by the collective work of CSINet participants. STEM champions at both the state and regional levels will be invited to participate in the planning process and in subsequent efforts to advocate for innovation and change in California. The living Blueprint will serve as a common reference point for the joint efforts of many organizations and individuals across the state willing to work together to transform STEM education. The innovative, highly collaborative, and widely distributed network of participants will be united by their shared commitment to promoting STEM literacy and transforming STEM teaching and learning into a 21st century K-14 education system where a substantial and increasing number of students are either college and/or work ready.

The California STEM Innovation Network planning effort is co-chaired by Warren Baker, President of the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), Susan Hackwood, Executive Director of the California Council on Science and Technology, and William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company. Day-to-day planning efforts are led by Cal Poly SLO and the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST). These representatives from both the public and private sectors possess significant expertise in science, technology and education, and look forward to collaborating with others to support needed improvements in the state's policy leadership and in its formal and informal education systems.