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Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Initiative Issues Call for Schools and Training Centers

From the Texas Education Agency
March 10, 2006

AUSTIN—As part of Texas’ continuing effort to create an educated, competitive workforce for the 21st century, the Texas Education Agency issued a call Feb. 24 for applications for those who want to establish schools or training centers that focus on science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

The academies and training centers are part of the $71 million Texas Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (T-STEM) initiative created by Gov. Rick Perry, TEA and private partners involved in the Texas High School Project.

“It is fitting that we issue the call for applications during National Engineering Week,” Commissioner of Education Shirley J. Neeley said Feb. 24. “A growing number of white and blue collar jobs require the problem-solving skills that students learn in these courses,” she said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs requiring science, engineering or technical training will increase 24 percent between 2004 and 2014 to 6.3 million jobs nationally.

“Ensuring college readiness and workforce readiness must be one of the primary aims of education,” Perry said when he announced the T-STEM initiative. “And with the undeniable march towards a global, technology-based economy, that means our secondary schools must place a greater premium on science and math education.”

TEA issued two Requests for Applications (RFAs) to create T-STEM academies. Each academy will be heavily focused on these four subject areas and will serve students in grades 6-12 or serve grades 9-12 and have a strong relationship with the middle schools that feed into the academies.

Each grade level will enroll only 100 students in order to keep instruction as personalized
as possible. One RFA is for academies that will open in the fall of 2006. The second RFA calls for applications for academies that will open in fall 2007.

By 2007, approximately 15 academies will be open. By 2011, the total is expected to
reach 35 academies. These schools collectively will produce about 3,500 graduates annually.
Students attending the T-STEM academies will be required to take four years of math and
science classes, which is more than is required under the state’s Recommended High School
Graduation Plan, and must participate in extra-curricular activities and an internship or project inareas related to science, technology, engineering or math.

The academies will also be required to work with higher education institutions to foster
partnerships, dual credit classes and teacher training opportunities.

Academies opening in 2006 will receive about $1,000 per student in additional funding
with additional funding possible in subsequent years, while those opening in 2007 will receive a planning grant of $125,000 with follow-up funding available as well. Because the grants will not be awarded until May, the schools opening next fall are likely to have strong math and science programs already in place.

Three academies, which were already operating programs similar to those required by
this initiative, have already been named T-STEM academies. They are:

• Carver High School for Applied Technology/Engineering/Arts in the Aldine Independent School District;
• The Academy of Irving ISD, Advanced & Applied Technology, Small Learning
Community; and
• A.J. Moore Academy in Waco ISD.

“We have some schools such as these that are already doing a great job in the areas of
science and math education,” Neeley said. “But it is equally true that the most common reason that a school was graded academically unacceptable in the state’s accountability rating system was because of poor science performance. The second most common reason is poor math performance. A state that is home to NASA and Dell Computer Corp. ought to lead the way in science and technology education. Our programs are improving but they could be so much better,” she said.

“One way to bring about improvement is to rev up the training program for teachers and
that will be a key component of the T-STEM initiative,” the commissioner said.
The agency on Friday will also issue an RFA for T-STEM centers. These will be based
at institutions of higher education or high-need school districts. The centers will focus on
improving teaching methods, teacher preparation and instruction in the four subject areas. They are to form partnerships with education service centers, businesses, museums or zoos that canbring added depth to their training.

The centers will also establish a statewide network that can share promising practice
ideas with all Texas schools.

These centers will be think tanks that create, refine and share the best methods for
teaching math, science, technology and engineering. The potential impact of the centers is far reaching,” Neeley said.

Each center will be eligible to receive a planning grant of $300,000 the first year, with
follow-up funding of $600,000 the following year.
Funding for the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Initiative is available for
five years and comes from the following sources:

• State —$30 million;
• Michael & Susan Dell Foundation—$20 million;
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—$20 million;
• National Instruments —$1 million; and
• Communities Foundation of Texas—Committed to raising $10 million from leading
businesses, foundations, and individuals who understand the significance of high-quality science, technology, engineering, and math education.

“T-STEM is a critical component of the Texas High School Project’s continuing effort to
improve our state’s graduation rates and increase the number of students prepared to succeed at the next level,” said John Fitzpatrick, who oversees the private side of the public-private project.

The $260 million dedicated to the high school project comes from the following sources:

• $148 million overseen by TEA with $118 million from state funds and $30 million
from federal funds;
• $57 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other provide funding
managed by the Communities Foundation of Texas;
• $55 million from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

For more information about the Texas High School Project, visit www.tea.state.tx.us/
/ed_init/thsp/. The T-STEM Requests for Applications will be available online beginning next
week at: www.tea.state.tx.us/opge/disc/.

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