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Volume 123 No. 26
$1.00 Nation’s #1 African American Newspaper 2014 Nielsen-Essence Consumer Report
JANUARY 31, 2015 - FEBRUARY 6, 2015
AFRO Series–Part Three
Fed Funding for STEM Ed Could Be More Robust, but Which Programs Work Best Is Unclear By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO With the nation facing a serious diversity gap in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and employment, federal funding for STEM education is increasing, but still playing catch-up. While experts say this funding in low-income and minority communities could be more robust, the greatest need resides in the informal learning sector (e.g. summer camps), where limited evidence is available about which programs are most effective, making increased investment a blind gambit. In his budget for 2015, President Barack Obama sought $2.9 billion for STEM education efforts, a 3.7 percent
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increase over the 2014 funding levels. According to James Brown, executive director of the STEM Education Coalition, an alliance of business education professional groups that works
perspective, the biggest challenge we have within that pool of STEM resources, is that it’s really, really diffuse,” said Brown. “If you take $3 billion and you divide it by 220, that
“…at a certain level, we’re leveraging the dollars that are available to us in the best possible ways and making more [out] of those dollars by other partnerships.” – Nick Greer to raise awareness about the importance of STEM education, that figure of almost $3 billion is spread across some 220 federal STEM education programs, about a third of which are diversity focused. “From just a big picture
means most of those programs are relatively small.” The single largest program solely focused on STEM, says Brown, is the Math and Science Partnership Program at the U.S. Department of Education, which has an annual budget of
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about $150 million and was established by the No Child Left Behind Act under the George W. Bush administration. “For a lot of states, that program is the only source of dedicated funding for the STEM subjects,” said Brown. He noted that most states do not have specific earmarks for STEM education in their education budgets. Considering that the Math and Science Partnership Program only dates back to the previous administration, this means many states have a limited pool of dedicated resources to address STEM education priorities for less than 15 years. According to Nick Greer, director of science for the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS), the city has been able to take advantage of what is known as the Investing
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WASHINGTON – The students at Frank W. Ballou Senior High School, which was founded in the early 1960s to serve residents in southern Anacostia – including Congress Heights, Washington Highlands, and Bellevue – have lots of which to be proud.
Ward 8 Center Launches 3D Mammography Services
By Shantella Y. Sherman Special to the AFRO
Residents of Ward 8 remain among the most underserved in the Washington metropolitan area. Particularly among minority women, accessing life-saving specialized services, such as mammograms, requires navigating both geographical and cultural barriers. To answer the call for quality and accessible health care, Breast Care for Washington launched 3D mammography services at Conway Health and Resource Center, in the heart of Southeast. The free screening event, in partnership with local nonprofit Nueva Vida, introduced the breakthrough technology of 3D imaging to patients whose scans would allow physicians to examine breast tissue layer by layer. The Genius 3D Mammography locates 41 percent more invasive or lethal cancers than traditional mammograms, and reduces the number of women called back for unnecessary screenings due to false alarms by up 40 percent. Founded by Beth Beck and Dr. Regina Hampton, Breast Cancer for Washington provides the only 3D mammography service east of the river. “Being involved in the ‘breast world’ we were both tired of saying the same old thing about disparities in Wards 7 and 8 and in Prince Georges County. We decided to take action. So, we decided to bring 3D mammography to Ward 8,” said Hampton, the Centers’ medical director. “There is only one mammography provider here in
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Women Mayors Embrace Bowser
By AFRO Staff
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AFRO Holds First ‘Black Lives Matter’ Town Hall, Community Discussion
By James Wright Special to the AFRO
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By Shannen Hill Howard University News Service
Photo by Shantella Y. Sherman
Breast Care for Washington co-founder Dr. Regina Hampton, Md. explains the 3D mammography to Blanca Pena during her consultation.
D.C. Mayor Muriel New Mayor, Muriel Bowser. Bowser, facing tough, early tests, received plenty of support and advice during a gathering of female mayors, recently. Bowser is a new member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), who met in the District for their annual winter meeting from Jan. 21-23 at the Capitol Hilton. She is also a member of the USCM’s Women Mayors’ Caucus and had the opportunity to network with female elected leaders of cities from around the country at its meeting on Jan. 21. “I plan on being very active with this caucus while I am the mayor of the District,” Bowser said. “We host this winter meeting every year and I will participate with this caucus and the U.S. Conference of Mayors for the benefit of the residents of the District of Columbia.”
Race conditions have transformed throughout the years from the exuberance of great leaders, protests and marches, but have they changed enough? Does society hold African American lives as equal to other ethnicities and races? In its first Black History Month event, the Afro-American Newspapers will host a “Black Lives Matter” Town Hall meeting and community discussion on Feb. 10 to explore the facets of life for Black people in the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia. The event will take place at The Howard Theatre, 620 T Street, NW from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Community partners for the event include Radio One, The Howard Theatre and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Continued on A3
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