Florida industry leaders promote science education.

• Author: Swallow, Ed
• Position: STEM News

Representatives from Florida's industry, academia and government communities came together at Northrop Grumman's Orlando, Fla., office to form a united charge against the coming tide of science, technology, engineering and mathematics work force retirements.

The meeting included the Central Florida chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association and members of its STEM Workforce Division along with the Aerospace Industries Association's work force committee.

STEM should not be an abstract term that is only spoken on a technical basis, but rather, it should he used as a verb, said Jimmie L. Davis, chair of the STEMflorida Business Steering Council. "STEMming" should he the vision for where public advocacy should be taken, said Davis.

Representatives called upon all members of their communities--from Tampa Bay to Daytona Beach--to become ambassadors for STEM and to reach out to young people who show interest in any of those fields.

Angela Baber of the National Governors Association's center for best practices pointed out that the nation's governors are integral to meaningful and lasting education reform. She described several successful public-private partnerships in STEM: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's STEM Advisory Council; Minnesota's "GetSTEM" website; the Dayton STEM Center STEM Fellows Program; and the Virginia Career and Technical Academies. When these programs and initiatives are set up correctly, the STEM pipeline grows, she said.

Representatives of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector presented their "Worthwhile to Teach High School Youth" (WORTHY) program. It allows elementary school children to assemble small pieces of technology that...