Maryland 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 Maryland's Linking Leaders program activities.

The Maryland Mathematics and Science Coalition (MMSC) serves to unite organizations in their efforts to encourage, coordinate, and focus statewide mathematics and science education improvements.

2006 Highlights

• The Coalition concentrated almost entirely on supporting the work of the Governor''s Advisory Committee on STEM Education.   This Committee grew out of the Summit on STEM Education held in late 2005 - a Summit supported by NASSMC, NASA and the US Dept of Education. The Committee submitted its report in September of 2006. The report was a major piece of work, reflecting the best thinking of the Coalition as well as the Advisory Comimttee members. The November elections brought about a change in the gubernatorial administration in Maryland. As a result, no action has been taken on the recommendations of the report. The Coalition is diligantly working to persdade the current adminstration that major action is needed regarding STEM education in the state.

NASSMC State Summit Implementation Program (NSSIP):  NSSIP, funded through NASA and the U.S. Department of Education, provides assistance to eligible state based organizations with planning, developing, administering, implementing, following-up and sustaining state science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education summits. The Governor's Summit on Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education was held November 17, 2005. Maryland held The Governor's Summit on Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education Thursday, November 17. Hosted by the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology in Rockville, Two main issues were discussed:

• Should Maryland go for world class standards?
• How can the pool of students taking serious math and science be doubled in the next few years?

Participants included the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, representatives from NASA Headquarters and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the Maryland State Department of Education, representatives from the U.S. Department of Education, and other business, education, and public policy stakeholders in Maryland. The Governor intends to appoint a small citizens group to pull together the thinking of the Summit and shape it into an action plan. Learn more here.

NES Partnerships for Sustainability: The NES Partnerships for Sustainability Program was launched in 2003 as a pilot to gauge the effectiveness of state-based coalitions working in active collaboration with the NASA Explorer Schools. MMSC, in partnership with Eastern Middle School, was awarded a NES Partnerships for Sustainability grant in 2005, to establish a Coordinating Council, provide assistance and support, set up in-depth professional development to teachers, and link the school to available state resources. During its participation in this program, Eastern Middle School has purchased and utlilzed various resources to augment STEM education initiatives (i.e., GLOBE curiculum, graphing calculators); has extended the use of technology to do myriad activities including career path exploration and interviews with NASA personnel; and has developed a needs assessment to design staff development opportunities.

Linking Leaders: Maryland entered the Linking Leaders program in 2003 with Linking Leaders 8. Through the Linking Leaders process a Statewide Summit on Mathematics, Science and Technology Education was organized and held in November, 2005. Hosted by the Governor, this Summit brought together over 100 key leaders form around the state to begin formulating Maryland's response to the challenges one reads about in such reports as "Rising Above the Gathering Storm", out of the National Academies. Following the Summit, the Governor appointed an Advisory Committee to shape the recommendations of the Summit into an action plan. This plan will be presented to the Governor in September 2006.