...21st century workforce in observance of Mathematics Awareness Month. As part of the company's MathMovesU® initiative—which aims to inspire student interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education—Raytheon announced it is extending its title sponsorship of the MATHCOUNTS® National Competition through 2018. It is also launching a new video series designed to engage middle school students in math challenges and is releasing an infographic—"The 21st Century Workforce: Skills Gap and the STEM Dilemma"—to raise awareness of the importance of math to the United States.

MATHCOUNTS: The company has extended its title sponsorship of the Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition through 2018. MATHCOUNTS is a national middle school coaching and competitive mathematics program that promotes mathematics achievement through a series of fun and engaging "bee" style contests. The program exists in all 50 states plus U.S. territories and the Department of Defense and State Department schools. Raytheon's support will help the organization meet its mission of providing fun and challenging math programs for U.S. middle school students to increase their academic and professional opportunities.

INFOGRAPHIC: "The 21st Century Workforce: Skills Gap and the STEM Dilemma," outlines the current workforce skills gap and the pressing need to engage students with STEM education. Raytheon believes that in order to build the next pipeline of technologists and innovators to ensure a competitive U.S. workforce and future economic growth, students must be shown the relevance of STEM in their everyday lives and future careers.

VIDEO SERIES: Raytheon launched a new video series that explores "Math Mysteries" using a high-energy game show format to engage middle school students in math challenges. The video series, part of Raytheon's MathMovesU initiative, features interactive learning programs—including the traveling exhibit MathAlive!™ and Raytheon's Sum of all Thrills™ experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®—as well as scholarships, sponsorships and events.

Throughout the month of April Raytheon is engaging the MathMovesU community of educators, parents, non-profit partners, policy-makers and students to explore the different efforts under way to improve STEM education and inspire the next generation of innovators.