Crystal Bonds is Principal at The High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College, New York, NY. During her three years as a new principal at one of New York City's eight specialized high schools, she found herself constantly wrestling with two challenges: (1) Maintaining the school's high academic standards; and (2)…

Currently, the U.S. is not stacking up in educating students in STEM disciplines. "America lags in providing top-level schooling in STEM fields…, and this may jeopardize future economic growth, job creation, and international competitiveness" (Smarick, 2013, p. 12). International assessments of student performance, including the Program…

Advocating for advanced learning or talent development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is both timely and very important. It is very important to speak out on behalf of talent development as the future of society depends on providing opportunities for developing talent to optimum levels. Some basic questions can set an…

Teaching and learning in the information age can be stressful. It seems only yesterday teachers were trying to imagine what the information age would be like. Now their brains are bombarded by billions of words every time they perform a "Google Search." There is a calm to the chaos when teachers focus on the foundation of their profession. Their…

Innovation fuels the economy by creating jobs rather than just filling them. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2009) says that innovation is (1) "the introduction of something new" and (2) "a new idea, method, or device." "Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Identifying and Developing Our Nation's Human Capital" (2010)…

In an evening seminar held in the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) auditorium, Lisa Anderson-Shaw, Director of Clinical Ethics Consulting Service at the University of Illinois Medial Center, posed a scenario that inspired a thirty-minute discussion of contemporary bioethics, during which speaker and students untangled issues of patient…

As Director of the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky for the past four and a half years, the author has had the distinct pleasure of leading an amazing group of students and staff in a residential program for high school juniors and seniors interested in advanced STEM careers. The years he has at the Gatton Academy…

The challenge for those who are working with talented STEM students is to engage them with like-minded science leaders through direct contact and by using meaningful web resources. The author discovered new web resources by attending a workshop and by reading an alumni magazine. She introduced both web resources to her senior classes and…

Recognizing the potential of talented students, dedicated educators, and innovative leaders, NCSSSMST and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, convened a Roundtable for NCSSSMST STEM Leaders at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina on April 28-29, 2011. The product of the Roundtable will be a blueprint for STEM research in high schools that…

Diverse learners are capable of becoming talented professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)--but they need opportunities to develop. "Just as in generations past, there are talented students from every demographic and from every part of the country who with hard work and with the proper opportunities will form the…

In conjunction with an NSF-funded mentoring program that partners University of Utah engineering professors and their undergraduate and graduate students with high school students from several Salt Lake City high schools that have a high percentage of low income and ethnic minority students, the Academy for Math, Engineering, and Science (AMES)…

Based on the data gathered and the interviews with administrators, the author makes the following suggestions. These twelve recommendations are targeted primarily toward educators wanting to strengthen their own mathematics and science offerings, possibly by establishing a school-within-a school or launching a charter school. The recommendations…

The process of borrowing money can be intimidating to some people. Many feel at the mercy of a loan officer and just accept terms and amounts at face value. A graphing calculator, or spreadsheet, with appropriate knowledge of how to use it, can be an empowering tool to help create a more equitable situation or circumstance. Given the proper…

The National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (NCSSSMST) has long been concerned with assisting member schools in meeting the needs of the under-represented populations in their communities. This article presents a condensed report that summarizes a major project that has continued relevance…

Addressing the under-representation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has been an initiative of the U.S. Congress for the past 30 years, but the challenge still remains unresolved. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Congressional Committee on Equal…