New Hampshire State Representative And Bay Area Nonprofit Working To Improve Access To Technology in
New Hampshire State Representative Tim Josephson (D-Canaan) has always been and continues to be focused on improving education and finding solutions for the opioid epidemic plaguing rural New Hampshire.
Rep. Josephson has now upped his ante in these efforts by joining forces with The STEM Future Foundation (TSFF), a charitable and educational nonprofit organization based in the California Bay Area. The mission is to bring access to high-quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) academic youth programs to rural New Hampshire.
TSFF Vice President Dr. Margaret Spicer says, "Our Program, WE ALL WIN WITH STEM! is national so we can help children both locally and nationwide. We're excited to be working with Tim to help the students in New Hampshire, where there's a definite need for our program." Dr. Spicer is a graduate of Keene State and has strong New Hampshire roots, but now lives in Silicon Valley."Silicon Valley will soon need to nationalize so we're focused on developing a larger pool of STEM talent to help fill the growing need for future STEM professionals."
There are both infrastructure and fiscal challenges to be overcome in New Hampshire's rural communities and other under-resourced rural communities in similar situations across the country. In the Mascoma Valley Regional School District, for example, while schools have recently been outfitted with fiber optic cabling to bring high-speed internet to the classroom, there is very little if any internet service in homes and the surrounding communities.
Rep. Josephson is working to solve these challenges to make the internet more widely available to rural communities to help provide K-12 students with technology resources that support personalized learning in STEM academics. Josephson remains hopeful that soon tech giants will flex their philanthropic muscle to support and foster better internet access for youth in rural America.
America's opioid addiction crisis is hitting hard in New Hampshire and other under-resourced rural areas leaving communities completely devastated in the wake. Silicon Valley tech giants could play a major role in helping to solve the opioid epidemic. "Having consistent access throughout the K-12 learning process to STEM programs that use health and wellness curriculum to help educate our kids on the dangers of opioid addiction will positively change the educational landscape and save lives, "says Rep. Josephson. "Our rural communities need internet access for these programs to work and thrive," STEM education could be a key factor in improving the state's most vexing social issue.
The WE ALL WIN WITH STEM! Program will afford New Hampshire's youth the best opportunity to prepare for careers in this new millennium. State Representative Josephson believes that by partnering with youth organizations like The STEM Future Foundation and having support from tech industry leaders, New Hampshire can move towards a sustainable solution to decreasing the rate of opioid addictions and advancing the state's goals of increasing school graduation rates.
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