Urban Education Institute 2013

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Addressing the 21st Century Imperative:
Improving STEM Success in Communities of Color

March 7-9, 2013

Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons

Greensboro, NC 27411

Purpose of the Urban Education Institute

The theme of this year's Urban Education Institute is Addressing the 21st Century Imperative: Improving STEM Success in Communities of Color.  National leaders in the political, corporate, and academic communities have warned that the American way of life is threatened because we are falling behind other countries in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).  These are the key disciplines of the 21st Century.  To solve America's competitiveness dilemma, the nation must successfully educate its underrepresented workforce in STEM fields--African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics.  The Urban Education Institute will examine research, practice, instruction, and policy that is focused on this critical issue.  This is a meeting space for scholars, practitioners, business and community members, and representatives from non-profit and faith-based organizations to assemble, examine critical issues that impact learners in urban contexts, share methods and approaches they utilize to address these issues, and brainstorm concrete steps to move forward as a critical mass of colleagues and collaborators. 

The following strands serve as the conceptual framework for the Institute:

Promising Practices: Practices utilized with people of color that elicit positive academic outcomes in the STEM disciplines.

Engagement: Meaningful academic and civic engagement efforts to increase the capacity of schools and communities to impact the lives of people of color that depart from traditional STEM approaches.

Leadership: The role of educators, community activists, scholars, and community leaders in developing a focused, collaborative shared vision that impacts the academic outcomes of people of color in STEM disciplines.

Scholarship/Research: The research agenda on promising practices, engagement, and leadership that improves the academic performance of people of color in STEM.

Policy: The process of transitioning from promising practices, academic and civic engagement, leadership, and research to developing policy at the local, state, and national levels that increases the number of people of color in STEM disciplines.