Background

In 2005, leaders from the Philadelphia corporate and university communities, the School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Education Fund came together to form the Philadelphia Math & Science Coalition. The mission of the Coalition is to address the pressing challenge of preparing our youth to excel in mathematics and science, and to help secure the future economic growth of our region and nation.

This initiative had its beginnings several years ago with a meeting of the Industrial Research Institute's (IRI) committee on education that focused on improving student outcomes in K-12 science and mathematics. In April 2004, the IRI and the National Science Foundation convened a follow up meeting. At that time, several corporate and university representatives indicated an interest in collaborating with the Philadelphia schools, with the long-term goal of improving science and math learning. It is against this background that we are building the Philadelphia Math & Science Coalition, with an initial interest in impacting teacher preparation and professional development.

Core Components

The Philadelphia Education Fund convened Coalition representatives on June 10, 2005.

We determined that the Coalition will need:
- A long term partnership among universities, schools, corporations and cultural organizations that creates a permanent infrastructure deeply rooted in the 'fabric' of all partners;
- A long term strategic plan with developmental phases based on shared premises and goals;
- Champions on the CEO level; serious commitment of all institutions' leadership;
- Funds to plan and begin to implement plans over the next 12 months.

The Coalition will initially focus on developing highly qualified math and science teachers through partnerships among universities, corporations and schools. The School District of Philadelphia, universities and corporations will work as equal partners. Other initiatives can and should grow out of the Coalition work that will enhance children's math and science achievements. Examples are citywide enrichment programs, internships, etc. We wish to place special focus on non-traditional populations in math and science, i.e., underrepresented minorities and women, in order to grow our talent pool.

The Philadelphia Education Fund is taking the leadership role in convening the partners, and synthesizing, articulating and implementing the goals of the Coalition. A steering committee is currently leading the strategic planning.

Partners

Thus far, the following organizations are participating in the Coalition:

Academy of Natural Sciences
Arcadia University
Arkema
AstraZeneca
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA
Cerexagri (now United Phosphorus, Inc.)
Chemical Heritage Foundation
Community College of Philadelphia
Delaware Foundation for Science & Mathematics Education
Delaware Valley Grantmakers
Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center
Drexel University
E.I Dupont De Nemours & Company
Ford Motor Company
Franklin Institute
General Electric
GlaxoSmithKline
Holy Family University
IBM Corporation
Ipraxis
Life Science Career Alliance
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Math Science Partnership of Greater Philadelphia
The New Teacher Project
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
Quaker Chemical Corporation
Rohm & Haas Company
School District of Philadelphia
Teach for America
Temple University
University of Pennsylvania
The Boeing Company
University of Pennsylvania
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
West Chester University
Philadelphia Education Fund

Contact Information

Carol S. Fixman - Bio
Executive Director
Philadelphia Education Fund
Seven Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Suite 700
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 665-1400, ext. 3313
cfixman@philaedfund.org