STEM 16 is intended to provide benefits for several stakeholders in the STEM community. These include, but certainly are not limited to:
- Students, who are the ultimate focus of all STEM 16 activities, and will benefit from expanded learning opportunities, increased knowledge of STEM pathways to higher education and careers, and increased visibility of their emerging knowledge and talents;
- Educators, who will benefit from tighter connectivity to STEM funding resources in the business community and government sources, networking with local businesses and organizations whose business models include STEM related projects and processes, access to local professionals who are leaders in STEM careers, and increased visibility of their innovations in and out of the classroom;
- Administrators, who will benefit from opportunities to showcase the depth and breadth of their STEM programming efforts;
- Businesses, who will benefit from the early identification of and prospect of enhancing a future workforce; and
- Public servants and their constituents, who will benefit from a stronger regional competitive advantage in academics, and from attracting tomorrow's industries to the Region.
We welcome other suggestions of the value of STEM 16 for you, and for our Region. Comment below!
The STEM 16 Committee, a division of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Technology and Innovation Council, has won the Virginia Department of Education’s Creating Excellence 2012 State Business and Industry Award of Recognition. The statewide award recognizes programs and partnerships that promote excellence in career and technical education. The STEM 16 Committee also won the Creating Excellence award for Region 3. Members of the STEM 16 Committee accepted the awards at a June 14 luncheon.
ReplyDelete“It was an honor to join members of our STEM 16 team in Richmond to accept not one, but two awards in recognition of the tremendous strides we are making in advancing educational programs that are helping us develop future workers and leaders who will build our region's innovation economy,” said Hap Connors, chairman of the Technology and Innovation Council.
Stafford County Public Schools nominated STEM 16 for the honor. The committee’s mission is to encourage the growth of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in Planning District 16, composed of the City of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. The crowning achievement of STEM 16’s efforts to date was last year’s first annual STEM Summit. Sponsored by local businesses, local departments of economic development, community leaders and educational institutions, the event showcased STEM projects prepared by students of Planning District 16. Capt. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, USN, commander at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (Carderock Division), spoke about serving on two NASA space shuttle missions.
“The Chamber recognizes the importance of emphasizing the areas of STEM to today’s students so they can be prepared for strong careers in the future. We are proud of the leadership role our Technology and Innovation Council has taken in the commonwealth through the outstanding work of its STEM 16 Committee,” Chamber President Susan Spears said.