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Twitter Chat – Increasing Enrollment of Underrepresented Students in STEM Programs

A Collaborative Conversation with the STEM Push Network, Remake Learning and the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice  We know the college admissions system is broken. It’s rife with systemic inequity. It relies on outdated standardized testing standards. How do we fix it? What can we as Ecosystem partners do? Remake Learning’s Pittsburgh Regional STEAM Ecosystem, the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice, and the STEM PUSH Network are working to answer those questions. On …

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The real “scandals” around college admissions that are legal and much less dramatic

Written by: Lori Delale-O’Connor, PhD, assistant professor of Education at the Center for Urban Education at The University of Pittsburgh and Leader At a recent SLECoP watch party of the Netflix documentary Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal we relived the drama of the 2019 scandal that saw wealthy parents working with college admissions coach, Rick Singer, to cheat and buy their children’s way into elite universities. We had a lively chat filled with …

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Two STEM Learning Ecosystems Win $6 Million in Department of Defense Grants

Two ecosystems that are a part of the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice each received $3 million grants for their important work related to improving meaningful STEM opportunities for all. STEM NOLA of New Orleans and Hillsborough County Public School District in Tampa, Florida were among 12 awardees across the country selected by the Department of Defense’s program for supporting the STEM workforce of the nation. STEM NOLA will be bringing its Center for the Innovative …

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Money. Race. Privilege. Class. Inequity

Now is the Moment to Disrupt the College Admissions Process Here Are Some Ideas Curated by the STEM PUSH Network The world of college admissions is under the national microscope in a way that it has never been examined before. With scandals involving celebrities using their wealth and influence to gain access for their children, to COVID-19 pausing standardized testing, there has never been a better time to work for systemic change in the college …

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Cleveland Schools CEO Urges Congress to Award $200 billion in federal funding

Ecosystems are ready to support school districts as they reimagine school  Cleveland Metropolitan School District Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon Monday told members of U.S. Congress that the inequities in Cleveland that were magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic existed long before anyone had ever heard of the disease.  The scourge of generational poverty and racism have long plagued Cleveland and Gordon urged members of Congress to join him and other leaders in addressing them. Testifying …

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The Moment for Change: Pre-College STEM Programs Can Inform Equitable College Admissions

As with all sectors of society, the education world has been upended and we are all searching for ways to make sense of what is, what was and what will be. The pandemic, the postponement of college board tests, and the growing trend of test results becoming optional for college admissions presents a unique opportunity to re-evaluate the entire college admissions process. As members of the STEM Pathways for Underrepresented Students to Higher Education (PUSH) …

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The WIR’ED project

The WIR’ED project, led by NEOSTEM, aims to strengthen local communities by enabling marketing and technology access to small business owners. Bringing together local businesses, high school students, and marketing professionals, WIR’ED’s pilot project focused on the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland where many brick and mortar stores were strongly affected by COVID crisis. Student Mira Getrost describes her experience in the article below. I have lived in Old Brooklyn for nearly a decade, and …

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HOPE: LOST and Found!

Dr. Calvin Mackie By Dr. Calvin Mackie, STEM NOLA Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? Do you remember the horrific images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005? Do you remember the Banking crisis in 2008? Everyone suffers from storms that come into their lives. No one is immune from bad days, or months, or sometimes, years. Presently, America as a whole is experiencing an unprecedented storm. The Coronavirus pandemic …

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Dale Robinson Anglin

We all have a role in responding to the COVID-19 crisis

Dale Robinson Anglin By Dale Robinson Anglin, Program Director, Youth, Health & Human Services, Cleveland Foundation   The COVID-19 pandemic has upended life as we know it here in the U.S. As a longtime advocate for STEM/STEAM learning, I am proud to see our doctors, nurses, data analysts, scientists, IT professionals and so many other STEM practitioners stepping up as essential leaders and heroes in the fight. As a program director at the Cleveland Foundation, I …

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Ninth Grade Insights on COVID-19

It’s hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago all 89 communities of the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice were together for our bi-annual Convening in San Antonio, Texas. Together, in March 2020, STEM Ecosystems gathered to learn more about how to best enable tomorrow’s problem solvers as key for our shared prosperity. With a convening focus on invention, innovation and entrepreneurship, STEM Ecosystems looked at how to develop pathways towards careers …

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