More than 400 of South Carolina’s leaders in business, education and government are expected to come together later this month for the STEM Education Summit in Spartanburg.
The summit’s theme, “STEM and the Arts In and Out of School,” is designed to arm the participants with new strategies for offering young people 21st-century learning approaches and STEM-related opportunities during and outside the regular school day.
“The Summit is about building a community through STEM and the arts,” said Tom Peters, executive director of South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science.
The annual summit is a joint project of the South Carolina Coalition for Mathematics and Science and the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance.
One of the most recent developments in STEM’s evolution is the addition of art into the academic mix for a new concept called STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design and Mathematics.
Linking STEAM learning in and out of school involves cross-sector collaboration, said Zelda Waymer, executive director of the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance. The partnerships with the South Carolina Coalition for Mathematics and Science at Clemson University and the Chapman Cultural Center will equip educators from different settings with innovative techniques and advance STEAM learning statewide, she said.
South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott has been invited to open the meeting, while featured guest speakers and panelists include U.S. Deputy Secretary Dot Harris of the U.S. Department of Energy; and Tom Thompson and Molly Spearman, both candidates for S.C. Superintendent of Education.
For more information, visit sccoalition.org/stem-education-summit.
