Norton to Speak at Wilson High School about Education Initiatives, After Getting Computers to Support DCPS STEM Education
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will attend a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) speaker series event at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School (3950 Chesapeake St. NW) tomorrow, Friday, February 21, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., and will speak about STEM education and about her education initiatives in the District, including assisting Wilson and Roosevelt Senior High Schools in their efforts to get STEM grants and computers through the General Service Administration's (GSA) Good Neighbor Program. Tomorrow's event is a part of the Nifty Fifty program, which is a speaker series run by the USA Science & Engineering Festival, in which role models in STEM speak to students across the D.C. area throughout the 2013-2014 school year. The featured speaker will be Dr. Erich Jarvis, an associate professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center. 600 students are expected to attend the event. In Congress, Norton has promoted education opportunities for D.C. students, especially her bill that resulted in the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG) program, but also the D.C. Congressional Art Competition, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Scholarship, and her Service Academy Selection Board.
Last year, upon learning that D.C. Public School (DCPS) teachers from Wilson and Roosevelt Senior High Schools needed computers to support their STEM program, Norton's office met with them, introduced them to the grants process and helped them identify potential funders. Then, Norton worked with GSA staff and DCPS teachers to bring computers to the schools through the Good Neighbor Program.
"STEM education has become increasingly critical for many occupations and professions," said Norton. "I am pleased that tomorrow's program, along with many like it throughout the school year, will bring D.C. students together with leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Programs like these, along with continuing to fight for the necessary educational resources for D.C. public schools, is exactly what is needed as our city's education system enters a new era."
Published: February 20, 2014