Keeping Communities Connected with STEM Education

While STEM employment grew by 79% since 1990, according to Pew Research Center, diversity and inspiration gaps discourage millions of bright minds from pursuing the array of important STEM jobs.

Of course, good and accessible STEM education is a cornerstone to a future in STEM. But so is career knowledge. As the first-of-its-kind STEM initiative, the STEM Careers Coalition connects STEM industries across the United States to diverse student populations that may be the future STEM workforce of tomorrow.

With a focus on equity and access, the STEM Careers Coalition unites the private sector around the shared goal of accelerating the growth of the United States’ STEM pipeline. The STEM Careers Coalition aims to prepare 10 million students for the future of work by 2025 through no-cost access to digital content and experiences that engage students in instruction, build foundational STEM knowledge, and develop the critical 21st Century skills needed for college and career success.

There will never be a one size fits all solution to the STEM gap. 

The STEM Careers Coalition works to ensure that zip code does not determine destiny. STEM Careers Coalition builds the next generation of solution seekers by focusing on providing 10 million students across 5,000 schools in high-need areas the resources necessary to bridge the equity gaps of STEM education. Coalition member companies catalyze and engage in regional approaches to workforce development by creating connected pathways for students through K-12, post-secondary education, and the STEM workforce. 

In addition to providing no-cost STEM experiences and career resources to schools nationwide, Coalition members also underwrite Discovery Education Experience and STEM Connect in local communities identified by the partners. Inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering, STEM Connect is an interdisciplinary resource that enhances core curriculum and helps students build valuable problem-solving skills as they develop and apply solutions to important real-world challenges. Rooted in authoritative research, users become part of a global student laboratory to share data and collaborate with others around the world. 

Discovery Education Experience is a flexible K-12 learning platform, Experience provides compelling high-quality content, ready-to-use digital lessons, unique collaboration tools, and professional learning resources that gives educators everything they need to facilitate instruction and create lasting educational impact. Built for all learners, grade levels, subject areas, and interests, Experience brings new excitement and relevance to the topics educators teach and reaches and engages every student wherever learning is taking place.

From Orange, CA to Western PA to Lansing, MI, students and educators receive support from the STEM Careers Coalition to see, and ultimately be, STEM professionals. Through the Coalition, companies underwrite resources for thousands of students and educators. Through the thoughtfulness of the Coalition partners, students will have access to an array of STEM-focused resources, such as virtual field trips, digital instructional assets, career exploration videos, and so much more. 

With a focus on tackling the lack of diversity and unequal access to opportunity in the STEM workforce pipeline, investments from the private sector will change the education experience of millions.

The anchor partner organizations who have provided initial seed funding and support to power the initiative’s launch include Chevron, The Manufacturing Institute, the American Petroleum Institute (API), Boeing, and Microsoft. These industry leaders depend on a strong pipeline of STEM-ready students to drive their businesses and the American economy forward, and thus are aligned on a shared mission to accelerate the elevation of STEM career pathways for students, parents and guardians in public, private, charter, and tribal schools nationwide. 

Businesses and organizations interested in learning more about joining the STEM Careers Coalition and school districts interested in exploring the scholarship process should visit stemcareerscoalition.org for more information.