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Baltimore County Hopes To Lead State In STEM Education

TIMONIUM Md. (WJZ)—Making sure Maryland students compete with the rest of the world. That's the goal of an education summit in Baltimore County.

Andrea Fujii explains how STEM classes hope to lead the way.

Whether it's building robots in Carroll County or creating a new Smartphone app in Anne Arundel County, it all happens in STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering and Math class.

"It's awesome because it's something that we made ourselves and everyone else can download it," said Michael Lyons, student.

To enhance STEM curriculum, education leaders gathered in Timonium hoping to provide better tools for teachers and students, starting in Baltimore County.

Ideas include training teachers to start STEM in elementary school, offering student internships with private companies and creating an online STEM network.

Education experts say right now there are thousands of jobs in STEM fields left empty in Maryland.

"We see ourselves falling behind other countries like China, where they are accelerating in their efforts in these STEM fields," said Dr. Nancy Grasmick, former state superintendent.

Former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine knows the importance of STEM education.

"I had 82,000 engineers working for me. If you go to Mars you got to get your orbits right and you do that with math," Augustine said.

It's about expanding students' minds and goals.

"I'm interested in the science aspect of STEM. I want to do something with neurology eventually," said Jenna Sheldon, student.

The Baltimore County STEM Alliance hosted Wednesday's event, hoping to become a model for the rest of the state.

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