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Fortifying Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education in New York City

As President Obama is leading our nation in an education reform to Race to the Top and Educate to Innovate, Mayor Bloomberg of the Big Apple is following suit in raising the education standards of K-12 school students by implementing more effective teaching and learning programs. Fortifying STEM education with a focus on the knowledge and skills for the jobs of the future is also an important aspect on the agenda of Bloomberg's education reform.

Mayor Bloomberg recently announced two STEM education programs to be initiated in middle and high schools and higher education:

  • An initiative to expand computer science software engineering classes in 20 schools in New York City
  • A program to help prepare students for college and careers in growing technology sector

In September, the Software Engineering Pilot will launch in 20 middle and high schools, bringing computer science and software engineering classes to students in grades 6 through 12. In the first year, the core topics to be taught include computer programming, embedded electronics, web design and programming, e-textiles, robotics and mobile computing. The Pilot will also offer elective classes, including digital fabrication, 3-D printing and animation.

The schools will receive comprehensive computer science and software engineering curriculum for the 1,000 students expected to participate this fall.

The 20 schools were selected through a competitive application process that evaluated the schools' current technology offerings and how the program could help grow and sustain the programming. They include:

  • High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology
  • Brooklyn Technical High school
  • The Bronx Compass High School
  • The Renaissance Charter High School of Innovation
  • Urban Assembly Gateway School of Technology
  • Queens Vocational & Technical High School
  • Cambria Heights Academy
  • Ralph Mckee High School
  • New Drop High School
  • Ditmas Intermediate School 62
  • I.S. 30 Mary White Ovington
  • Mark Twain I.S. 239 for the Gifted and Talented
  • Bronx Park Middle School
  • M.S. 223 The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology
  • Tompkins Square Middle School
  • Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74
  • J.H.S. 185 Edward Bleeker
  • Pathways College Preparatory School
  • J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey
  • Eagle Academy for Young Men

The other program that prepares students for college and careers in growing technology sector builds on the Applied Science NYC initiative that the Bloomberg Administration launched to capitalize on the considerable growth in the city's science, technology and research fields.  In the technology sector, employment in New York grew by nearly 30 percent between 2005 and 2010, with total employment now at nearly 120,000.  The City has established three partnerships expected to create more than 48,000 jobs and 1,000 new companies and will be led by Cornell and the Technion, which is developing a campus on Roosevelt Island; the NYU-led consortium, which will build the Center for Urban Science and Progress in Downtown Brooklyn; and Columbia University, which will establish the new institute for Data Sciences and Engineering, to be located at Columbia's Morningside Heights and Washington Heights campuses.

The above information is from Press Release: News from the Blue Room of the Mayor's Office.

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