| K-12
SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
COALITION
American Association of
Engineering Societies
American Association of
Physics Teachers
American Chemical Society
American Geological
Institute
American Institute of
Biological Sciences
American Institute of
Physics
American Physical Society
American Society of Civil
Engineers
American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, Council on Education
American Society for
Engineering Education, Engineering Deans Council
Business Coalition for
Excellence in Education
Computing Technology
Industry Association
General Electric
IBM Corporation
Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers- United States of America
Information Technology
Industry Council
National Alliance of
Business
National Alliance of
State Science and Mathematics Coalitions
National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics
National Science Teachers
Association
National Society of
Professional Engineers
Northern Virginia
Technology Council
SchoolTone Alliance
Semiconductor Industry
Association
Society of Automotive
Engineers
Society of Women
Engineers
Technology Workforce
Coalition
Texas Instruments
Incorporated
The Junior Engineering
Technical Society
Triangle Coalition for
Science and Technical Education
Tufts University, School
of Engineering |
October 5, 2001
The Honorable Robert Byrd
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Byrd,
More than ever before,
America's economic growth and national security depend on science
and engineering advances. The undersigned industry, scientific,
engineering, and educational organizations commend the House and
Senate for including bipartisan provisions in the ESEA (H.R.1) to
improve K-12 science, math, engineering, and technology education.
During the final debate on ESEA and appropriations for the
Department of Education, we hope you will support strong funding for
the Math and Science Partnerships in Title II of ESEA.
Because our
technology-driven economy is demanding more and more high-skilled
workers, we are concerned that US high school students on average
are not performing well in math and science and fewer are pursuing
degrees in technical fields. With this year's reform of the nation's
main K-12 education law, Congress has an historic opportunity to
help close this alarming gap.
The Math and Science
Partnership provisions in the House and Senate ESEA bills authorize
merit-based partnerships between school districts, university
science, math, and engineering departments, businesses, and
educational organizations to improve teacher quality and student
achievement in math and science. Providing strong funding for math
and science in ESEA is critical because this legislation is the
primary federal vehicle for improving teacher quality and learning
across all states and school districts. We support the House method
of awarding competitive grants through states, instead of the
Department of Education, based on state and local needs assessments.
We also recommend a separate authorization for these partnerships as
adopted by the Senate.
We commend Congress and the
administration for proposing Math and Science Partnerships as a way
of improving federal efforts in this area and achieving greater
state and local accountability and results. Because their scope and
success will depend largely on the funding authorized and
appropriated, we urge you to support the strongest possible funding
for these partnerships. Thank you for taking our views in account.
If you have any questions,
please contact Laura Kolton at 202.872.4384 or Patti Burgio at
202.785.7385. (Sample
of Letter Sent to House-Senate Conferees on Elementary and Secondary
Education reauthorization legislation - S.1/H.1) |