The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that before today's middle school students graduate from high school, the number of jobs requiring skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will more than double. As schools around the country strive to ensure that their students are building the skills required for success in higher education and STEM careers, the Verizon Foundation, in collaboration with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), will provide schools in underserved areas with the professional development necessary to achieve this critical 21st century goal.
Through a $295,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, ISTE will provide educators at 12 underserved schools around the country with year-long professional-development that will prepare them to facilitate, model, integrate, and apply existing mobile technologies to support digital-age STEM learning. These schools are part of the Foundation’s Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) program.
This blended professional development model – which includes both live and virtual training -- will be based on an individual needs assessment conducted at each school.
