MARYLAND BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE FOR EDUCATION SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO INFORM, INSPIRE AND MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE
Workplace volunteers give students an up-close-and-personal experience that helps them understand how important achievement in high school is to their future and how they can prepare for successful careers and lives
Baltimore, MD – The Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT), a nonprofit coalition of leading employers working to support education reform and improve student achievement, announced that it is seeking and recruiting workplace volunteers to participate in its award-winning Maryland Scholars Speakers Bureau and STEM Specialists in the Classroom programs for the 2014-15 school year.
Maryland Scholars Speakers Bureau is a growing cadre of dedicated volunteers from varying backgrounds and professions, committed to making a difference in students’ lives by demonstrating the importance of taking and completing the rigorous Maryland Scholars coursework and the vital connection between achievement in school and success in the workplace and in life.
STEM Specialists in the Classroom is a group of professionals from STEM industries, federal agencies, and higher education who inform, inspire and engage students by co-teaching STEM lessons and providing hands-on learning experiences that demonstrate the real-world application of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) content and skills.
“We want Maryland students to lead the nation – indeed, the world – in STEM capability, ensuring high-level employability for our students and economic prosperity for the state,” says June Streckfus, MBRT Executive Director. “Decisions students make in high school affect the rest of their lives. Research shows that the more students interact with workplace professionals while in high school, the more money they earn after they graduate.”
Volunteers are asked to attend a 3-hour training session and make four 50-minute classroom presentations during the school year. Volunteers can choose the schools, dates and times that best fit their schedules.
Abraham Joshua, a volunteer since 2008, shares, “You have less than an hour to give a classroom of 8th and 9th graders the direction they seek, the motivation they lack and a gentle nudge to make their dream a reality. You come out of the classroom feeling rejuvenated and inspired to do more.”
Over the past ten years, more than 3,000 volunteers have made presentations to more than half a million students throughout the state of Maryland. During that same time, the percentage of students graduating as Maryland Scholars has increased from 33% to 54%.
For more information, or to volunteer, please visit www.mbrt.org/speak or contact Nona Carroll at 410-788-0333 ornona@mbrt.org.
About MBRT: Founded in 1992, MBRT is a nonprofit coalition of leading employers that have made a long-term commitment to support education reform and improve student achievement in Maryland. For more information, visitwww.mbrt.org.
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