Interview with Muhammed Chaudhry, CEO, Silicon Valley Education Foundation
Situation: A critical component for the future of technology in the US is a workforce trained in math and the sciences. In Santa Clara County, California – the heart of Silicon Valley – only 49% of high school students complete University of California/CSU qualifying courses, and only 26% of Hispanic students. How can private industry contribute to the improvement of education and the training of future workers?
Advice from Muhammed Chaudhry:
- Silicon Valley Education Foundation’s objective is to make Silicon Valley the number one region in California in student readiness for college and careers. It has been shown that the top predictor of college success is the completion of Algebra II in high school. Our primary program – Stepping Up to Algebra – focuses on students and teachers to increase the number of students who are ready for Algebra I in 8th Grade. To date 2,500 kids have gone through our program.
- We actively encourage private industry to get involved in our programs and to invest in solutions that work. We call this involvement Work, Wealth and Wisdom.
- Let’s talk about Work:
- Our aim is for every business person to make it a priority to invest time in public education. This takes an investment – we ask for a consistent investment of 4-5 days a year.
- Next is Wealth:
- We encourage every business person to sign up to our Sustainer Program. The commitment is modest – only $5 per month to support our activities.
- We encourage corporations to Adopt a Classroom for $10,000.
- Finally we have Wisdom:
- We encourage business people to get involved. We need help designing technology products that enhance learning and in formulating a blended learning approach.
- We need to improve the enabling of technology in our schools to improve individualized learning to maximize the potential of each student.
- We need support and involvement in policy work by contributing business thinking. Education has lessons to learn from business.
- There is room for innovators who are interested in social benefit and long-term investment with profit as a secondary consideration.
You can contact Muhammed Chaudhry at [email protected]
Key Words: Technology, Future, Education, Workforce, Math, Algebra, Science, College, Preparation, Work, Wealth, Wisdom, Investment, Engineer, Software, Funding, Learning, Policy, Innovation
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