FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2019

CONTACT:              
San Diego Zoo Global
Public Relations
619-685-3291

WEBSITE:               
SanDiegoZoo.org

CONTACT:              
Michael Pauker
Berlin Rosen
(646) 335-0330
Michael.Pauker@berlinrosen.com

NEWS RELEASE

San Diego Zoo Global Hosts 100Kin10 Summit 

Program Achieves Key Milestone on the Way to Training 100,000 STEM Teachers

          This week, 100Kin10—a national network with a goal of training and retaining 100,000 excellent K–12 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers by 2021—announced a key milestone during the organization’s annual partner summit at the San Diego Zoo: The network has successfully trained and retained more than 68,000 new STEM teachers since its formation. 100Kin10 has consistently met or exceeded its annual benchmarks and is on track to reach its goal of 100,000 teachers by 2021, even as teacher prep programs across the country are seeing historically low enrollment numbers.

          Talia Milgrom-Elcott, founder and executive director of 100Kin10, announced the news at the summit, which brought together more than 250 leaders from every sector across the nation, including 40 of the country’s best STEM teachers, to collaborate, brainstorm, learn from one another and make the alliances necessary to prepare 100,000 excellent STEM teachers—and to address the challenges that have made that goal so difficult for so long.

          “This week, we’re celebrating that our partners are on track to prepare 100,000 excellent STEM teachers by 2021, despite historic enrollment declines in teacher preparation programs and STEM teacher shortages in every state,” said Milgrom-Elcott. “But our network isn’t resting on its laurels. We’re doubling down on addressing the underlying challenges that caused the STEM teacher shortage in the first place, because we know how important STEM teachers are to students’ success in life and in the workforce.

           San Diego Zoo Global President/CEO Douglas G. Myers welcomed the group, and reaffirmed San Diego Zoo Global’s commitment as a partner in delivering on the goals set out by 100Kin10. “We consider our dedication to provide educational programs as essential to realizing our vision of leading the fight against extinction,” said Myers. “We are grateful that all of you have committed yourselves to realizing the dream of adding 100,000 STEM qualified teachers to bolster science literacy.”

          As a partner organization since 2016, San Diego Zoo Global has trained 1,300 teachers through its Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science, impacting nearly 1 million students in mostly Title I schools across the country.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL
As an international nonprofit organization, San Diego Zoo Global works to fight extinction through conservation efforts for plants and animals worldwide. With a history of leadership in species recovery and animal care, San Diego Zoo Global works with partners in science-based field programs on six continents, and maintains sanctuaries and public education facilities in many places. Inspiring a passion for nature is critical to saving species, and San Diego Zoo Global’s outreach efforts share the wonder of wildlife with millions of people every year. Current major conservation initiatives include fighting wildlife trafficking and the impacts of climate change on wildlife species; broad-spectrum species and habitat protection efforts in Kenya, in Peru and on islands worldwide; preventing extinction in our own backyard; and expanding efforts to bank critical genetic resources and apply them to the conservation of critically endangered species. To learn more, visit sandiegozooglobal.org or connect with us on Facebook.

ABOUT 100KIN10
100Kin10 is a network of best-in-class organizations collectively responding to the “moon shot” call to put 100,000 new, excellent STEM teachers in America’s classrooms by 2021. Through this pioneering networked impact approach, 100Kin10 encourages multi-sector collaboration and provides the vision and resources to help nonprofits, foundations, academic institutions and businesses meet their ambitious commitments to educate the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. More information is available at 100kin10.org.

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