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US and Mexico Join Forces for Global STEM Summit

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San Antonio is location for March 2020 convening of STEM Learning Ecosystems  

SAN ANTONIO – In 2018, the San Antonio-based Alamo STEM Ecosystem partnered with Mexico’s Movimiento STEM in a separate yet collaborative competitive application process eventually leading to both being selected as part of the international STEM Learning Ecosystem (SLE). It was the bi-national initiative and San Antonio’s long history of collaboration with Mexico that helped propel the selection of both locations.

In 2019, the Alamo STEM Ecosystem and Mexico City’s Movimiento STEM announced a partnership to co-host the March 2-4, 2020 convening of the STEM Learning EcosystemsSM Community of Practice (SLECoP) in San Antonio.

The two STEM ecosystems understand that the world’s challenges and opportunities will be solved by collaborations that extend beyond geographic borders — making them obvious partners for co-hosting this bi-annual conference. San Antonio was selected because of its strong commitment to STEM and vibrant leadership of its local STEM ecosystem, said Jan Morrison, founder and managing partner of TIES, the organization that operates the STEM Learning Ecosystems. This is a great opportunity for San Antonio STEM/STEAM educators to work together with many STEM educators convening here resulting in strengthening STEM education opportunities for our students, said Raul Reyna, Lead for the Alamo STEM Ecosystem. More than 450 STEM leaders are expected to participate

Founded in 2015, the SLECoP is a global initiative of education and business leaders who know that prosperous communities are built through collaboration, a willingness to reimagine education and provide opportunities to those commonly neglected. It includes 89 ecosystems operating in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Israel and Kenya. Ecosystems work to improve STEM opportunities for all learners by aligning stakeholders from education, business and industry, after-school organizations, non-profits, government and philanthropy.

The December 2018 Federal five-year strategic plan, Charting A Course for Success: America’s Strategy for STEM Education, identified STEM ecosystems as the number one strategy for for improving STEM literacy, ensuring a strong workforce and global competitiveness for all, and an important means to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in a thriving STEM workforce.

About the March 2020 STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice Convening

  • Raul “Rudy” Reyna will lead planning with the help of Co-chairs Ravae Shaeffer, Eddie Rodriguez and Tyler Schroeder.
  • The Spring convening will be held at the Marriott River Center with an opening reception at the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology at Port San Antonio.
  • San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg is scheduled to offer an opening welcome for the convening on Monday, March 2.
  • The theme of the convening, “Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” will be carried out through presentations, workshops and displays and will also include a focus on San Antonio’s strong work in cyber security.
  • For information on attending or sponsoring contact Alyssa Briggs, director of the STEM Learning Ecosystems at alyssabriggs@tiesteach.org or visit stemecosystems.org.

About STEM Learning Ecosystems

The organization was built on the fundamental, evidence-based belief that learning happens everywhere, not just in traditional classrooms. Consequently, ecosystems are made up of partners representing K-12 public and private education, business and industry, after-school providers, non-profits, STEM-rich institutions, government and philanthropy. Ecosystem partners work toward shared goals to improve STEM opportunities for all. Ecosystems also recognize the importance of identifying necessary skills for an economy yet to be conceived and ensuring policies meet 21st century needs. The SLECoP offers the architecture and support for the ecosystems to connect to one another, learn and share best practices.

It is supported by numerous funders and partners, including Amgen Foundation, Broadcom Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Cleveland Foundation, DigitalC, Fowler Family Foundation, Huntington Bank, Nord Family Foundation, Nordson, Overdeck Family Foundation, Qualcomm Foundation, Samueli Foundation, STEM Funders Network, Steinman Foundation, STEM Next Opportunity Fund, TGR Foundation, The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, The Steinman Foundation, and many other local and regional foundations that support their respective STEM ecosystems.

About TIES – Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM

TIES is a global STEM workforce and education consulting firm headquartered in Cleveland that is dedicated to making STEM accessible to everyone, especially underserved and underrepresented learners. They do this by connecting stakeholders — educators, funders, community organizations, businesses and government agencies — who, through collaborative partnerships, create meaningful and gainful STEM learning experiences. TIES designed and continues to lead the SLECoP, which was created in 2015 with the support of the STEM Funders Network. TIES has a team of consultants that provide strategic planning support and guides design, training and implementation across all services. Visit www.tiesteach.org

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