U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will address students at McKinley Technology High School Thursday in Washington, D.C., encouraging them to study the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). His remarks are part of a youth-organized and youth-led event kicking off the USA Science & Engineering Festival being held April 26-27 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C. The festival bills itself as the world's largest STEM outreach event.
The Obama administration is committed to providing students at every level with the skills they need to excel in the high-paid, highly-rewarding STEM fields. The goal is to move American students from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math achievement with an "all hands on deck" approach, bringing together government, industry, non-profits, philanthropy and others working together. As part of that goal, President Obama has called for the nation to recruit and retain 100,000 high-quality STEM teachers over the next decade.