NORWICH – New York state, along with the entire United States, is falling behind other countries in its math and science proficiency, said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer during a gathering at Unison Industries in Norwich Wednesday.
Schumer (D-NY) told a small crowd of workers, local business leaders and elected officials that most U.S. college graduates in math and science are heading into the private sector rather than accepting lower salaries to work in schools and classrooms, resulting in less qualified educators and thus lower student test scores. The decline will eventually ripple into the skilled workforce, the Senator argued, which could seriously weaken the U.S. in the future as competitors in the global economy.
“We have to compete, and we have to be able to compete in businesses like Unison,” Schumer said, citing that meeting skilled labor and engineering demands in technology development and high-tech manufacturing has to be a top priority, before it becomes a problem.”That’s our future. It’s the future of Chenango County.”
Gary Cummings, the director of operations at Unison in Norwich, said that skilled labor in general, and not just engineers, is what drives their business and what they depend on to continue to be successful.
“We need people with solid math and science skills,” Cummings said. “We need a highly skilled work force.”
The Senior Senator is backing legislation in Washington that he says will give our country’s best and brightest incentives to join and stay among the ranks of qualified math and science teachers, and keep them motivated to improve and evolve their skills and knowledge as educators.
“It allows our schools to get really good people without raising the property tax,” Schumer said. “It’s not just good for teachers, it’s good for kids, and it’s good for companies.”
Referred to Wednesday as the “Math for America” plan, the bill would allow prospective and current teachers to apply for entrance into a federal Teaching Corps program. Corps members would receive federal stipends of between $11k to $20k to be added to their normal salary, with experienced teachers entering the program receiving the full $20k.
“We have a number of great students that come out of our schools,” said City of Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano. “We need to bring those homegrown kids back to the community. Those are things that bring teachers back to the area.”
New teachers entering the corps would be required to give a four-year commitment and complete a paid one-year master’s program, along with (all teachers) passing a National Academy of Science-approved standardized test once every five years. According to the bill, the corps would also act as a leadership and credibility platform for Americans teaching and learning math and science.
“It’s a great initiative,” said Richard Decker, the Chenango County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “Not only to make students aware that math and science skills are needed today, but also in the future. This will benefit Chenango County and all of New York state.”
Using the 2006 data from the New York state Department of Education, Schumer pointed out that 21.9 percent of 4th grade students in Chenango County did not meet state standards in math. For eighth graders in the county, 48.5 percent did not meet the math standards.
“We are not going to compete well in minimum wage jobs,” he said. “Our (New York state) big strength is our work force. We have one of the most skilled work forces in the country – that’s our ace in the hole.”
Schumer hopes that Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer can fulfill his promises to help rejuvenate the state’s business climate, one-half of the economic picture that is “turning the corner,” he contends.
However, “our wealth won’t grow if our education doesn’t grow,” he said.