Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Monday, March 6, 2006

KIRKSVILLE, MO - U.S. Senator Kit Bond today visited the Kirksville Middle School in Kirksville to stress the importance of math and science education. Over the last two weeks Bond has visited with students in southeast, southwest and central Missouri.

“Future job and economic growth in the areas of health care, life sciences, industry, defense, agriculture and transportation is directly related to scientific advancement,” said Bond. “America’s wealth and leadership in the world depends on our mastery of math and science, which means we need to do more. It is critical that we make these disciplines relevant to kids.”

Bond emphasized the need for more programs like the NASA Education Resource Centers (ERC), which assist K-12 teachers statewide in math, science, and technology education enhancement. Working with Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the NASA-ERC has Resource Agents in St. Louis, Kansas City, Kirksville, Columbia and Springfield. This program has helped more than 6,700 teachers through workshops and presentations, Bond pointed out. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond secured the initial funds to establish Missouri’s statewide NASA-ERC network.

Science is a fast moving field, said Bond. In the last hundred years, science has taken us from the Wright Brothers first flight to manned space flight, from Henry Ford’s first car to today’s vehicles hosting full-fledged entertainment systems and Global Positioning Systems. Science is moving even faster now, whether the field is space exploration, engineering technology, information systems, or biotechnology, Bond stressed. In order for this country to retain its global competitive edge American students must be able to succeed in math and science.

For Missouri to remain a leader in biotechnology, a field that did not even exist 20 years ago, keeping children interested in math and science is essential, said Bond. As Congress' leading advocate of the new biotechnology revolution, Bond has earmarked over $450 million for plant genomics. He has secured $31 million for the Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia and millions for facilities in Kansas City, St. Louis and the Bootheel, including the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri Botanical Garden and the University of Missouri Greenhouse. In addition to the federal funding Bond has also been a strong biotechnology advocate in the United States and abroad, traveling to Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

“Students like those at the Kirksville Middle School are the next generation of astronauts, engineers and mathematicians. There is no more important job than training them up to be the best they can be,” said Bond.