The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in conjunction with three independent school districts (ISD), San Antonio, North East, Northside, and the Alamo Community College District will partner with South Texas Oncology and Hematology, Lockheed Martin, CPS Energy and the Mayor of San Antonio. The San Antonio Mathematics and Science Education Partnership (SAMSEP) will bring together all stakeholders from the various demographic groups to establish a strong and comprehensive partnership with a shared vision of addressing local and regional gaps in student achievement in STEM education.
The long-term goal of the project is to prepare students to succeed in higher education and contribute to workforce needs by creating a regional Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Center at UTSA that will serve as a hub for the coordination of efforts between the city's fifteen school districts, the five campus community college districts and the other four institutions of higher learning.
The objectives are to increase student achievement in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics K-16, increase the rigor of STEM courses offered, align curriculum, particularly between high school and first year college, and develop a broad base of support within the civic and business community. Partners in civic leadership and the business community are a critical addition to the academic group as they can assist in practical training and identifying local job related needs in the expanding manufacturing and high tech industry in San Antonio.
The results of this START project will be incorporated into a needs assessment that will provide a framework for STEM faculty involvement, address the five MSP key features, implement and assess pilot projects and support the development of a follow up Targeted Partnership. The intended project has the potential to positively impact a large number of underserved students in the San Antonio. The proposed activity will serve as a pathway to broadly integrate STEM learning across diverse partner organizations and to provide additional opportunities for collaborative engagement to vertically aligned and/or horizontally aligned K-20 institutions of learning. A product will be a digital social networking tool that after initially supporting partner interactions will become a resource for others.
