Luna will join national STEM nonprofit as VP after his term as state schools chief is up
Idaho state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna has accepted a new job with a national education non-profit focused on science and technology courses and teacher training, starting in early 2015. Luna will be vice president of policy, advocacy and research for Project Lead the Way, a provider of STEM programs and teacher training; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.
"My focus and priority today continues to be the children of Idaho,” Luna said in a statement. “There are several major initiatives that need continued attention such as teacher quality and pay through a new tiered system of licensure and a well-funded career ladder, technology implementation to increase access throughout Idaho, dual credit opportunities for all high school students and ensuring students are reading proficiently by the time they exit third grade. These are my highest priorities as I finish my second-term as state superintendent of public instruction.”
Luna will be based in Idaho in his new job, according to his office. “It was really important to Superintendent Luna that he gets to stay in Idaho,” said spokesman Brady Moore. Luna will be “creating his own team” for Project Lead the Way, Moore said.
In his new job, Luna will oversee a team focused on federal, state, and local policies, as well as research initiatives that support STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) growth across the United States. He’ll oversee four regional directors and a team of policy analysts and researchers.
According to its website, Project Lead the Way is the leading provider of K-12 STEM programs to schools in the United States, serving more than 5,000 elementary, middle and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It started in 1986 in upstate New York when high school teacher Richard Blais began offering pre-engineering and digital electronics classes to his students; he received support from the Liebich family’s Charitable Leadership Foundation in 1997 to expand the high school engineering program to 12 schools in upstate New York, and it grew from there.
Asked if the organization currently does business with the state Department of Education, Moore said, “Currently Project Lead the Way does not contract with Idaho at the state department level. They may do some work with schools independently, but on a statewide level, we haven’t worked with them at all, and we will continue to not work with them.”
Idaho Education News has a full report here, including these details: Project Lead the Way curriculum is currently offered in Boise, Nampa, Meridian, Kuna, Caldwell and Fremont school districts; and Idaho’s Division of Professional-Technical Education website encourages teachers to offer the nonprofit’s programs. Annual fees range from $750-$3,000 per school; the organization also has corporate sponsors.
