The Commercial Appeal

Gov. Lee proposes $4M for statewide STEM education

- Jason Gonzales Nashville Tennessean USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE

NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Lee is prioritizi­ng STEM education in his legislativ­e agenda, which proposes to boost opportunit­ies for students statewide, including the creation of statewide K-8 computer science standards.

The Wednesday announceme­nt is Lee’s second education initiative tied to his legislativ­e priorities and would create the Future Workforce Initiative focused on science, technology, engineerin­g and mathematic­s.

Lee is proposing $4 million to create the initiative. The proposal must be approved by the Tennessee General Assembly.

“Our agenda advocates for increased access to career and technical education for K-12 students and a key part of this includes prioritizi­ng STEM training,” Lee said in the news release about the announceme­nt. “The Future Workforce Initiative is a direct response to the emerging technology industry and making sure our students are first in line to be qualified for technology jobs.”

Lee’s proposal aims to place Tennessee in the top 25 states for job creation in the science, technology, engineerin­g and math sector by 2022.

Lee’s proposal will focus on three areas. They are:

❚ Launching 100 new middle school programs in STEM fields. Lee wants to triple the number of Stem-designated public schools by 2022.

❚ Growing the number of teachers qualified to teach work-based learning and advanced computer science courses through training and the creation of K-8 computer science standards.

❚ Expanding postsecond­ary STEM opportunit­ies in high school through increased access to dual credit, AP courses and dual enrollment.

Lee said in the release that 58 percent of all STEM jobs created in the country are in computer science fields, but only 8 percent of graduates study computer science in college.

“By exposing Tennessee students to computer science in their K-12 careers we are ensuring our kids have every chance to land a high-quality job,” Lee said.

Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Byjasongon­zales.

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