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New member: STEMx welcomes Arkansas!

Aug 18, 2017

STEMx is welcoming a new member — the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC). To find out more about the center, its accomplishments and future projects, we contacted Dr. Lisa W. Todd, director of education at the organization, based in Little Rock:

Q: Tell us about the Arkansas Public School Resource Center and its mission.
A: APSRC is a service-oriented, nonprofit membership organization that provides targeted technical assistance and training to support the development and advancement of charter and rural public schools across Arkansas.

The mission of APSRC is to improve public education by providing technical support and advocacy services to schools in the state with an emphasis on assisting charter schools and public schools in rural districts.

Since 2008, APSRC has been a leading nonprofit advocate for quality education in Arkansas by providing valuable technical assistance to schools across six critical subject areas: charter development, communications, financial analysis and management, legal services, technology and teaching and learning.

APSRC members receive access to specialized content and tools while benefiting from the guidance and assistance of a highly qualified and supportive APRSC staff.

Q: How do you promote STEM-related education through the center?
A: APRSC’s Education Department serves on the Arkansas committee of Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education and has brought together key stakeholders in the state to share ideas and advance the committee’s vision for STEM education in Arkansas.

Arkansas is one of 13 states selected to participate in this National Science Foundation grant aimed at creating equitable and coherent systems for advancing science education for all students. This project is a partnership among the Council of State Science Supervisors and researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Washington.

Our committee and the other participating states are creating a network to develop and test state-level strategies and tools for advancing systems of equitable science education. A primary goal has been to evaluate and better understand the role formative assessments can play in aligning curriculum, instruction and assessment.

In addition, APSRC has been working in partnership with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s Computer Science Initiative to support programs that enhance STEM curriculum. One such program is Learning Blade, a supplemental online curriculum for middle and early high schools that is uniquely focused on increasing awareness and interest in STEM careers.

Through a grant, APRSC provided middle school students across the state with free access to the Learning Blade software. This was done as part of a statewide effort to increase student interest in computer science careers, as well as those in science, technology, engineering and math.

Learning Blade has been validated as a supplemental tool for increasing STEM career awareness and interest by Battelle Education.

As a further outgrowth of APSRC’s participation in the governor’s Computer Science Initiative, Facebook donated 500 virtual reality kits to a number of high-poverty schools in the state. The expressed intent of this special technology program was to increase exposure to, and interest in, technology and encourage students to consider technology careers.

To assist in the rollout of the program, APSRC’s Technology and Education Departments organized and provided professional development assistance to participating EAST Labs and technology teachers on how to best introduce and use these virtual reality kits. To further promote and maximize the impact of the program, APSRC showcased student-created work on the APSRC website and awarded student prizes for the most innovative VR content.

With this and other technology initiatives, APSRC participates and works closely with the Arkansas STEM Coalition.

Q: What would you consider the center’s major accomplishments, both STEM-related and otherwise?
A: APSRC played a critical role in bringing Summit Learning to Arkansas. Summit’s founder, Diane Tavenner, enlisted help from Facebook engineers to design a learning platform that generated tremendous success in turning around failing high-poverty schools in California. This personalized learning platform has been replicated in several states.

Arkansas has 13 Summit pilot schools, all APSRC members, that are implementing this exciting new initiative. Members of our APSRC education staff are being trained as certified Summit third-party partners so that we can provide needed technical support and intensive professional development to Summit personalized learning schools in the state.

APSRC is also playing a key role in expanding internet capacity for all schools in Arkansas and supporting programs such as Project Lead the Way.

Q: Why did APRSC want to join STEMx?
A: APSRC consistently strives to help our rural and charter schools keep abreast of cutting-edge technology and promising new opportunities for students. A significant factor in our choosing to join STEMx was the success we enjoyed through our initial collaboration with Learning Blade and the Arkansas STEM Coalition.

We felt that STEMx could help us build upon what we had developed through our productive partnership with these programs and assist us in expanding our overall portfolio of services in this important and rapidly evolving area of technology.

Q: What are your plans for future STEM promotion in Arkansas?
A: Our overall goal is to continue to encourage the expansion of internet capacity for students. More specifically, we are focused on increasing access to one-to-one devices for students, families and communities through their schools, and expanding the number of schools implementing Summit Learning.

Q: Does Arkansas pose unique challenges or have unique needs as far as STEM education is concerned?
A: As a rural state, Arkansas has long faced the challenge of delivering the same degree of high-quality education and instruction to all of its public schools, especially those located in more remote areas. In terms of internet access and technology, lack of sufficient bandwidth and overall connectivity has been a hindrance.

Fortunately, however, with the development of increasing bandwidth and connectivity in Arkansas, the barriers that once limited the use of technology in overcoming long-standing physical barriers to the free flow of communication and instruction have begun to fall. Access to technology is the great equalizer in providing educational services to a rural state such as Arkansas.

As such vital technology becomes more cost-effective and available to teachers and students, it provides increased access to the kinds of tools and technical assistance provided by APRSC and permits increasing access to one-to-one devices.

The highly innovative EAST Lab program, which originated in Arkansas more than 20 years ago, is expanding into middle and elementary schools. More public schools are placing smart technologies in every classroom, with many schools providing their students with one-to-one devices.

Technology is helping to open doors for rural students that were once closed. High-quality coursework and instructors that were once inaccessible are now available at the touch of a key or the click of a mouse. As technology increases accessibility and connectivity, the overall challenge remains as to how to successfully open up and make available these expanded educational opportunities to all school districts in Arkansas. (APSRC provides free access to Lynda.com, which offers 700 design courses, 600 software development courses and 700 web development courses.)

Q: What can the Arkansas Public School Resource Center share with other STEMx members that might help them meet challenges or establish new programs?

A: As defined by APSRC’s mission to advance public and charter education in the state, much of the center’s ability to effectuate change and improvement hinges on its ability to effectively collaborate and network with other creative and innovative entities. APRSC’s partnership with organizations such as STEMx provides unique opportunities to further expand our contribution to education and extend our networking activity across the globe.

For APRSC, as well as other STEMx members, the key to our effectiveness also rests on our ability to openly share ideas and take risks. Educators, businesses, parents and students all are trying so hard to be relevant and competitive and contribute to the enhancement of educational opportunities in Arkansas.

With the support of APSRC, the Summit pilot schools are re-envisioning education in Arkansas. It is exciting and a bit overwhelming. For our children’s sake, we must be prepared to grab a hand, hold our breath and take a heartfelt leap of faith into the future.

By Rob Evans 01 Nov, 2023
by Heather Sherman, Director of STEMx The 2023 STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce was a success! Through our collaboration with STEMconnector and Million Women Mentors, we convened 160 leaders from industry, government, non-profit organizations, and education institutions from all over the United States to discuss strategies and best practices to support the STEM workforce. We were honored to host a variety of dynamic speakers including: Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado Brynt Parmeter, Chief Talent Management Officer, U.S. Department of Defense Dr. Athina Kanioura, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, PepsiCo and Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, Founder and CEO of Ruling Our eXperiences (RoX). We extend our gratitude to our panelists, Learning Session speakers, and participants who joined us in Denver. Broadening participation We set out share information on trends in STEM education and workforce development, with an emphasis on broadening participation in STEM careers. Resources from sessions highlighting strategies for broadening participation are linked below: DoD STEM: Developing a STEM Workforce to Support the National Security Mission Priming the Pump for High Demand STEM Careers STEM Workforce Readiness for Teen Girls: “If She Can See It, She Can Be It” Driving change Another goal of the forum was to feature high impact strategies, programs and solutions that are driving change, and STEMx members from LASTEM , the PAST Foundation and MBRT showed how they are engaging youth and building career awareness through their workforce programs. Emerging technologies We looked towards the future to better understand how emerging technologies will change the world and the ways we must prepare STEM talent for jobs in logistics, artificial intelligence, research safety , bioenergy , and renewable technologies. Chevron‘s sponsored panel, “Cultivating the Talent to Drive the Innovation and Technologies for Ever-Cleaner Energy” was a rich discussion featuring experts from Chevron, Project Lead the Way and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Dr. Jamie Vernon, Executive Director, and CEO, Sigma Xi Society was a fantastic moderator for this discussion. Next steps We have linked event resources including videos, slide decks and collateral on the event landing page . The event photo gallery is located there as well. If you attended, please complete our 30 second event survey . Five lucky winners will be selected at random to receive a Forum water bottle! More importantly, your feedback matters to us. If you did not attend, mark your calendar for next fall - we’re looking to make next year even bigger! If you are interested in hosting in your state, or have thoughts about compelling content that we should include, please reach out to Heather Sherman .
By Rob Evans 03 Oct, 2023
Join us for The STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce
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