Colorado is one of the states featured in the Linking Leaders Community for Change Book. Click the image to go to the Linking Leaders book main page and learn more about Colorado's Linking Leaders program activities.

Vision: COMSTEC envisions a globally competitive 21st Century Colorado STEM Workforce.             

Mission: The mission of COMSTEC is to serve as an intermediary in creating partnerships to promote systemic, continuous and sustainable improvement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Colorado and leverage those partnerships to enhance the 21st Century workforce by:  

• Advocating for systemic and continuous improvement of STEM education statewide;   
• Promoting and supporting a viable coalition of the education, policy, business, and public sectors of the community focused on STEM education;   
• Serving as a vehicle for discussion, dissemination and implementation of innovative ideas and approaches to effective teaching and learning of STEM.

NASSMC State Summits Implementation Program (NSSIP): The NASSMC State Summits Implementation Program (NSSIP) provides assistance to state based organizations with planning, developing, administering, implementing, following-up and sustaining state mathematics and science education summits. NSSIP grants have been awarded to seven states in April 2005 through funding provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Additional support is provided through a separate grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Colorado received a NSSIP grant in 2005 and held its state STEM education summit in February 23, 2006. Participants included NASA, NASSMC, the U.S. Dept of Education, legislators, educators and businesses including Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace and Technologies, Corp. and Raytheon. Key to the summit was the creation of a State Action Plan, which will be developed by the participants of the Summit and implemented by COMSTEC during the coming year. The preliminary draft of the Action Plan will be formed through a breakout session of the Summit participants who will also present the items their breakout groups have decided to be the most important items to pursue for success.

Linking Leaders: The Colorado Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education Coalition (COMSTEC) was among the first three states to participate in the Linking Leaders Program. One of its first major undertakings was to list available NASA materials for K-12 instruction by individual state standards. COMSTEC's most notable accomplishment over the past year has been the development of its own website. This website allows COMSTEC to maintain a "virtual" coalition with its members and constituents in Colorado. The website seeks out the opinions of parents, educators, policymakers and industry professionals. By bringing these differing interests together, COMSTEC bridges the gap that often divides these groups. COMSTEC promotes and supports a viable coalition of the business, education, policy, and public sectors of the community focused on mathematics, science, and technology education.