| Sen. Roger Thompson joined business professionals, educational leaders, and school administrators from all levels of education ranging from K-12, CareerTech and higher ed on Tuesday at the 3rd annual STEM Summit in Oklahoma City. Hosted by Governor Mary Fallin, the event connected various key players from education and business to the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. “The summit provided an incredible perspective of the future of STEM,” said Thompson. “It’s inspiring to see teachers, administrators, legislators and members of the business community recognize the need for strong math and science educational opportunities in Oklahoma.” Thompson said the summit included breakout sessions throughout the day that incorporated several areas of interest, including how to meet the STEM needs of the next several decades as well as building effective STEM communities through education and industry partnerships. “One of the primary takeaways from this week’s meeting was recognizing the gap between where Oklahoma needs be in regards to STEM education and careers in 10 years compared to where we are right now in 2015,” said Thompson. “The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission and the Department of Commerce says by 2025, 77 percent of jobs in Oklahoma will require some type of education beyond high school, while only slightly more than half of Oklahomans currently have such qualifications. There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re doing everything we can to get the right people and programs in place to prepare Oklahoma for strong math and science programs, which in turn will stimulate economic development and generate a better quality of life and better jobs for our state.” |
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| Henryetta's Middle School STEM students participated in the Tulsa STEM expo recently. They joined over 1,000 other youngsters from northeastern Oklahoma learning various principals of science, technology, engineering and math. |
