The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

REDMOND, Wash. - Gov. Jay Inslee and leaders from Washington's business and education communities called Monday for continued improvement and coordi- nation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for all students.

Speaking at Washing- ton STEM's annual STEM Summit on Microsoft's Red- mond campus, Inslee pointed to the unmet need for STEM workers in the state's many technology-dependent businesses, from established companies like McKinstry and Microsoft to biotech startups working on innova- tive new medicines.

" We've made great strides in STEM education, but without further improve- ments and better coordination these companies will have to look even more to other states and other countries for their workforce,'' Inslee said. "And without STEM skills, our homegrown students will be shut out from these jobs."

Also at the summit, Wash- ington STEM CEO Patrick D'Amelio announced the expansion of the organiza- tion's growing system of regional STEM Networks. The first networks, launched last year in Spokane, Yakima and South King County, will be joined by four additional networks in Bremerton / West Sound, Snohomish County, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver.

The networks bring edu- cators, community leaders and STEM professionals together to help improve STEM learning and oppor- tunities for students in their regions, especially students from low-income back- grounds and communities of color. The STEM networks are also aligned with local economic development ef- forts.

``These networks will help STEM professionals and educators drive local solutions that have statewide impact," D'Amelio said. "Working together, we can realize our goal of ensuring all Washington high school students are STEM liter- ate, prepared and inspired for post-secondary degrees and certificates, and able to contribute to the demands of a highly-skilled and diverse STEM-driven workforce and society."

Washington STEM ad- vocated successfully for im- provement in STEM educa- tion in 2013. The Legislature passed, and Inslee signed into law, the comprehensive STEM education initiative, which includes creation of a STEM Education Innova- tion Alliance and a STEM Benchmark Report Card. The Legislature also ap- proved counting Advanced Placement computer science as a science credit for pur- poses of high school graduation. And the state adopted the Next Generation Science Standards.

There were more than 300 participants at the summit -- educators, students, businesses, community lead- ers and elected officials -- who were welcomed by Ifrah Abshir, a 10th grader at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. "The fact that you're here shows you truly care about the future of our schools, the future of our economy and the future of students like me," Abshir said.