ACS joins broader STEM community in call for Presidential Leadership on STEM Education

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March 12, 2021

The Honorable Joseph Biden Jr.
President
The White House

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of our broad community of organizations united in the goal of advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, we are writing to urge you to use your White House “bully pulpit” to the maximum extent possible to highlight the critical role that learning in the STEM subjects plays in advancing our country’s technological leadership and economic future.

We applaud your Administration for making investments in education a central element of the Build It Back Better agenda to promote U.S. prosperity and innovation in an increasingly competitive, technology-driven world. Over the course of the past year, enormous, longstanding gaps in educational attainment and equity and have become visible and been exacerbated by our response to COVID and its impacts on the education system, especially for our youngest and most high-need students. Reopening our schools safely must be a priority to get the country back on its feet and headed towards a future where every child will have a chance to learn the skills they need to succeed in the evolving modern world – which are overwhelmingly in the STEM fields.

Excellence in STEM should be embraced as a bedrock element in conquering the challenges of today and tomorrow, including protecting human health, modernizing our infrastructure, harnessing the data revolution, digital skills, and computer science, protecting our environment and fostering equity for those who have been underserved by our communities. American recovery from COVID and its economic disruptions demands having a world-class and equitable education system that broadens authentic participation in STEM to all communities of learners and enables them to compete successfully for the best jobs of the future

Your personal leadership is an essential element in sending our students and teachers the message that excellence in the STEM subjects is a crucial national priority and is accessible to all. To this end, we would encourage you to:

• Re-launch the White House Science and Engineering Fair and other similar events such as Maker Faires, Hour of Code, Future City Competition, and Astronomy Night;
• Recognize Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching winners and other teaching and student leadership awards at the White House;
• Personally visit science and technology agencies and facilities across the federal government and public schools with excellent STEM programs, especially those in underserved communities;
• Attend a space launch;
• Elevate and praise the winners of national competitive STEM team events such as robotics competitions, Science Olympiads, transportation technology, building design, and other similar teamwork events in the same manner as the winners of the Super Bowl and World Series.

Whether virtual or in-person once conditions permit, these types of events – and the President’s personal presence at them – send a huge signal about the United States’ commitment to the importance of science, technology, engineering and math and the importance these subjects – and equity and diversity within these fields – to our future.

Unfortunately, during the COVID pandemic, far too many schools have turned away from a strong focus on the STEM subjects as they have struggled to maintain their operations with insufficient federal support. This shift has happened even more acutely at the PK-5 level, where there hasn’t been a sufficient STEM emphasis for many years.

We need to reverse this trend before a generation of students falls behind in the knowledge and skills they will need to support our recovery, achieve equity, and propel us forward. Your personal and visible leadership in elevating the profile of education in the critical STEM subjects will have a meaningful impact toward this goal, as will prioritizing funding for federal programs that are essential to student success in STEM subjects in your first budget.

Respectfully,