DETROIT – The newly-formed Southeast Michigan STEM Alliance, formed by the Michigan STEM Partnership, has just been selected to join the STEM Learning Ecosystems national initiative to make a significant impact on STEM education and workforce development.

As announced at the U.S. News STEM Solutions National Leadership Conference on May 25, Southeast Michigan is one of 17 regional Ecosystems added to the national Initiative, which now encompasses 54 communities.

In just two years, the STEM Learning Ecosystems Initiative has become a thriving network of hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals, joined in regional partnerships with the objective of collaborating in new and creative ways to increase equity, quality and STEM learning outcomes for all youth.

“It’s so important to consider the entire continuum of education,” said STEM Learning Ecosystem co-chairs Gerald Solomon, Executive Director, Samueli Foundation, and Ron Ottinger, Director of STEM Next. “The growing Community of Practice shares ideas and best practices for innovative learning that will benefit students’ individual development and prepare them for the demands of the 21st century workforce.”

The Michigan STEM Partnership’s Southeast Michigan STEM Alliance was selected to be one of 17 incoming ecosystem communities because of a demonstrated commitment to cross-sector collaborations in schools and beyond the classroom—in after-school and summer programs, at home, with local business and industry partners, and in science centers, libraries and other places both virtual and physical. As STEM Ecosystems evolve, students will be able to connect what is learned in and out-of-school with real-world opportunities.

“It makes sense to collaborate with like-minded organizations, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” said Gary Farina, Executive Director of the Michigan STEM Partnership and its’ Southeast Michigan STEM Alliance. “STEM Ecosystems provides technical assistance and infrastructure support so that we can tailor quality STEM learning opportunities to our specific needs in Southeast Michigan while leveraging the experience of similar alliances across the country.”

Early plans for [the Southeast Michigan STEM Alliance] are to expand representation on the Alliance leadership council, including all levels of education, business/corporate members, community, service and professional organizations, government, and other stakeholders to begin regional development planning efforts.

The following ecosystem communities were selected to become part of the national STEM Learning Ecosystem:

Arizona: Flagstaff STEM Learning Ecosystem

California: Region 5 STEAM in Expanded Learning Ecosystem (San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey Counties)

Louisiana: Baton Rouge STEM Learning Network

Massachusetts: Cape Cod Regional STEM Network

Michigan: Michigan STEM Partnership / Southeast Michigan STEM Alliance

Missouri: St. Louis Regional STEM Learning Ecosystem

New Jersey: Delran STEM Ecosystem Alliance (Burlington County)

New Jersey: Newark STEAM Coalition

New York: WNY STEM (Western New York State)

New York: North Country STEM Network (seven counties of Northern New York State)

Ohio: Belmont County Ohio STEM Initiative

Ohio: STEM Works East Central Ohio

Oklahoma: Mayes County STEM Alliance

Pennsylvania: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery STEM Learning Ecosystem

Washington: The Washington STEM Network

Wisconsin: Greater Green Bay STEM Network

Canada: Symbiosis, British Columbia, Canada

Learn more about the national initiative at stemecosystems.org. Address specific questions to [email protected]. Join online conversations on Twitter @STEMecosystems and #STEMecosystems and on Facebook. Local STEM information can be found at MISTEMPartnership.com, and local STEM conversations can be joined on Twitter @STEMPartnership and on Facebook at MISTEMPartnership.