Education leaders looking to engage Jacksonville's youth in science, math

Times-Union

By Tessa Duvall

http://jacksonville.com/news/schools/2015-03-06/story/education-leaders-looking-engage-jacksonvilles-youth-science-math

Promoting excitement and excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields among Jacksonville’s students will take involvement across the community, according to Jacksonville’s education leaders.

That includes mentors who can serve as models of success, quality teachers who have a deep understanding of the subject matter, businesses that are on board as partners and parents who will provide the support their scholars need.

The third-annual Jacksonville Community Education Summit brought together leaders from Jacksonville’s colleges and universities, public school system, Mayor Alvin Brown and keynote speaker Freeman Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, for a panel discussion Friday about quality STEM education at the downtown Jacksonville Public Library.

Hrabowski, an accomplished higher education leader, said Americans of all races do not succeed in STEM fields in college, not just minority students. About two-thirds of students who begin a STEM major won’t go on to earn a STEM degree, and the more prestigious the school, the more likely the student is to leave the field.

“I would argue what we’ve learned at UMBC that’s worked with minority students also helps us with our white students,” he said. “That would be building collaboration... learning how to ask questions of each other, how to support each other, how to trust each other... and at the same time, learning how to read and think critically across disciplines in math and science. It’s very important.

“The real issue for minority children and low-income white children is that they’ve never learned to read and think critically. You learn to do by doing.”

Cynthia Bioteau, president of Florida State College at Jacksonville, quoted a saying she often keeps in mind: "I cannot be what I cannot see."

"We hope to encourage and recruit men, women, minorities, all of us, into STEM fields, we must make a very, very concerted effort to have our teachers, our faculty, our administrators and our community reflect what we want our students to be, what we want them to become," Bioteau said.

Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti mentioned the role quality teachers play in STEM education.

"I see very few children enter pre-k not excited about math and science concepts because it's part of the natural curiosity that comes with the scientific method. Asking questions, a hypothesis, challenging that hypothesis. Children actually think like that," Vitti said. "What ends up happening is we do not have, at scale, math and science teachers that understand the content in a deep level and know how to present it in a fun, interactive, hands-on way."

Anna Hammond, executive vice president of Edward Waters College, spoke from a parent's perspective. She said talented students are often labeled "nerds" and made fun of, so they need support to be successful.

"No. 1, parents have to support (gifted STEM students)," Hammond said. "Parents have to know that is important. Parents have to know we need our students be educated so they can solve the problems we're facing."

Brown and Hrabowski also used the summit to announce a new partnership between the city and UMBC to bring a STEM-focus to the city’s Learn2Earn summer program. The aim is to enhance the students’ access to STEM fields using the university and Hrabowski’s expertise.

Tessa Duvall: (904) 359-4697