Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge

The White House and the U.S. Department of Education have announced a new Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge and are inviting public schools across the country to compete to have President Obama speak at their graduation.

At the beginning of the school year, the president encouraged students all across the country to take responsibility for their education, study hard, and graduate from high school. The Race to the Top High School Commencement challenge encourages schools to show how they are making great strides on personal responsibility, academic excellence and college readiness.

Applications must be completed by students and submitted by a high school principal using the Commencement Challenge Application Form no later than Monday, March 15th at 11:59 p.m.

Each school may submit only one application and high schools must be public to apply.

Following the application deadline, six finalists will be selected by the White House and U.S. Department of Education. These schools will then be featured on the White House website and the public will have an opportunity to vote for the three schools they think best meet the president’s goal. The president will select a national winner from these three finalists and visit the winning high school to deliver the commencement address to the class of 2010.

The application’s four essay questions focus on demonstrating how the school is helping prepare students to meet the president’s 2020 goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Applications will be judged based on the school’s performance and dedication to providing students an excellent education that will prepare them to graduate ready for college and career choices. Each question must be answered in full to qualify and data that substantiates each answer is strongly encouraged.

In addition to the required essay responses, applicants are invited to submit the following optional supplemental materials:

• Video – no more than 2 minutes in length – showing the school’s culture and character and highlighting how it is a model of educational success for other high schools around the country.
• Supplemental data on key indicators such as attendance, student achievement, graduation rates and where available, college enrollment rates. This data may be presented in the form of tables, graphs or spreadsheets and should be used to help the school make the most compelling arguments possible.

Please use the Commencement Challenge Application Form to apply.

President’s 2011 Budget Aims to Boost STEM Investments in New Mexico, nationwide

The prosperity of future generations depends on what we do now to educate our students. President Barack Obama unveiled the FY-2011 Budget on Monday demonstrating a strong commitment to education in STEM fields nationwide, with an unprecedented set of investments particularly in K-12 STEM education.

The 2011 Budget would increase total education spending nationwide by about 6 percent. The proposal currently would invest a total of $3.7 billion in STEM education programs across the federal government, including an historic $1 billion commitment to improve math/science achievement among K-12 students – an increase of over 40 percent.

Under the President’s proposed budget, New Mexico may see tax cuts for 700,000 families; $262.1 million for schools, students, and teachers; $871 million in new funding for Pell Grants to help families pay for college; and a pay raise for the 14,400 men and women in New Mexico serving in our Armed Forces. According to White House calculations, the proposal contains at least $437.6 million for New Mexico’s elementary and secondary schools, students, and teachers.  It also proposes $245.8 million in Pell Grants to help more than 61,500 New Mexican students afford college.

The president also stressed that every child deserves a world-class education in New Mexico.

Here are the highlights:

• The president’s budget makes college more affordable for an estimated 77,000 New Mexico residents by increasing the maximum Pell Grant for college students for the next school year to $5,550.
• The president also wants to eliminate middlemen in student loans, bypassing banks and putting the funds directly in the hands of students. This would save an estimated $5 billion next year in subsidies for the banks, and $48 billion during the next decade. The savings would be invested in our students, increasing Pell awards across the country.  In New Mexico, the President’s plan would boost Pell funding by $871 million between now and 2019.
• The budget makes permanent the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit for people attending college while also proposing to cut the red tape on financial aid, making it easier for students and their parents to apply for assistance.
• The budget invests $123.1 million for state and local educational initiatives throughout New Mexico which strengthen student achievement in low-income areas. These funds would provide additional assistance to teachers and schools as they implement innovative approaches to raising student performance.
• The budget provides New Mexico $23.1 million to help increase students’ academic achievement by boosting teacher training efforts and expanding recruitment efforts for teachers and principals in “high-need” school districts.
• The budget provides $12.4 million for the School Breakfast program and $55 million for the School Lunch program.

These proposed investments within the president’s budget support the next generation of learners by helping states develop and implement math and science instructional practices that are aligned to rigorous college-and career-ready standards and by supporting districts and non-profit organizations that develop, implement, and evaluate promising and effective programs. It also aims to increase STEM literacy so that students learn deeply and think critically by strengthening STEM education opportunities for all students.

This boost in investments towards STEM outcomes will help drive economic growth in the coming decades. The proposed budget provides $300 million in new grants to states to develop and implement instructional practices and improve teaching and learning in science and math aligned to new high standards. The budget also dedicates $150 million within the Investing in Innovation Fund to competitive grants for school districts, non-profits, and other organizations to test, validate, and scale promising strategies to improve teaching and accelerate student learning in STEM subjects.

The president’s budget proposes a bold strategy to foster educational excellence, advance equity and opportunity, improve student achievement, reward successful outcomes, invest in innovation, and prepare our nation’s children for global competitiveness. If approved as presented, it will have a substantial impact on the lives of our students.

But, there is a need for urgent action.

Our nation’s eighth graders are scoring below their peers from many Asian and European countries in math and science, and we are neither adequately closing the achievement gaps in math and science nor providing adequate opportunities for many students from diverse backgrounds.

Among the many challenges the U.S. faces today, few are as important as finding, encouraging and training more students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. If we are to stem the flow of jobs and foster innovation in our state and throughout the nation, STEM education simply must be a higher priority.