First Lady and Dr. Biden Highlight Education on National Tour for Military Families

This morning, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, in conjunction with the National Math and Science Initiative, will host a science competition where military parents will challenge the students at Fountain-Fort Carson High School, where military children make up almost half of the student body, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Joining in this challenge of kids versus parents will be Jamie Hyneman and Grant Imahara from the Discovery Channel program MythBusters.

The visit follows the launch of Joining Forces (www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces) , a national initiative to support and honor America’s service members and their families, on Tuesday at the White House.  The event will highlight the commitment to produce awareness about the unique challenges military children face and the need for advanced placement courses and digital content services in math and science at schools serving military children. 

Discovery Education is providing Fountain-Fort Carson High School educators with free access to a customized professional development webinar series featuring a unique collection of career video clips, learning activities, and related content that highlight the connections among science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  

The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), in partnership with Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), and Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA), is announcing a major new campaign to bring rigorous STEM coursework, AP math and science, to public high schools serving a high percentage of military families.  As a result of this commitment, this fall, NMSI will expand its Initiative for Military Families to an additional 28 public high schools serving children of military families in nine states, and impacting over 40,000 in the next school year alone. A sampling of schools that will receive this program this fall include:

• Grissom School, Huntsville City, AL
• North Pulaski School, Pulaski County, AR
• Fountain-Fort Carson School, Fountain-Fort Carson, CO
• Mesa Ridge School, Widefield 3 District, CO
• Howard School, Macon-Bibb District, GA
• Leilehua School, Hawaii School District, HI
• Mililani School, Hawaii School District, HI
• Radford School, Hawaii School District, HI
• Campbell School, Hawaii School District, HI
• Smith School, Cumberland County District, NC
• Carl Albert School, Midwest City District, OK
• Eisenhower School, Lawton District, OK
• Shoemaker School, Killeen District, TX
• Killeen School, Killeen District, TX
• Freedom School, Prince William District, VA
• Hampton School, Hampton District, VA
• Kecoughtan School, Hampton District, VA
• Menchville School, Newport News District, VA
• Woodbridge School, Prince William District, VA
• Woodside School, Newport News District, VA

The expansion of the Initiative for Military Families highlights the potential of a broad array of organizations that can come together to serve military children. In this all-hands-on-deck commitment, corporate, philanthropic and government partners include Boeing, Exxon Mobil, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Office of Naval Research.    

The Joining Forces (www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces) initiative aims to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of our society – citizens, communities, businesses, non-profits, faith based institutions, philanthropic organizations, and government – to ensure military families have the support they have earned. 

Additional information on education commitments in support of military families is available HERE (www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/04/12/president-obama-vice-president-biden-first-lady-michelle-obama-and-dr-ji) .