STEM Careers Coalition Aims to Reach 10 Million Students

  • By Sara Friedman
  • 11/12/19

Discovery Education has announced the creation of the STEM Careers Coalition to help educators develop a pipeline of students who are interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields. The initiative will provide no-cost resources to students and educators, including virtual field trips, digital instructional assets and career exploration videos.

The resources will help students "build foundational STEM knowledge and develop the critical thinking 21st Century skills for college and career success."  The initiative has received with initial seed funding and support from Chevron, The Manufacturing Institute, the American Petroleum Institute, Boeing, Microsoft and Best Buy.

The coalition will implement a phased approach with a pilot year to measure program impact and develop ways to scale strategically.  The initiative will scale up over a five year period and expect to reach 10 million students by 2025 with support from corporate supporters and industry partners.

There are five components of the STEM Careers Coalition's work:

  1. Direct investment in schools by providing K-12 STEM career resources, STEM Connect access and professional development for under-resourced schools.
  2. Employee engagement through mobilizing the current STEM workforce at scale to inspire and connect with tomorrow's employees through engaging classroom experiences.
  3. Thought leadership with multi sector leaders working to together to implement the initiative.
  4. Careers portal to provide schools, parents, press and the public with stories of the people and future needs of critical industries and the companies leading the way.
  5. Research and impact to optimize and measure STEM engagement and career awareness through an evaluation by McREL International.

More information about the STEM Careers Coalition is available on Discovery's website.

About the Author

Sara Friedman is a reporter/producer for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe covering education policy and a wide range of other public-sector IT topics.

Friedman is a graduate of Ithaca College, where she studied journalism, politics and international communications.

Friedman can be contacted at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @SaraEFriedman.

Click here for previous articles by Friedman.


Featured

  • DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education Announces Updates to Experience, DreamBox Math

    K-12 learning solution provider Discovery Education has announced enhancements to its Discovery Education Experience and DreamBox Math products, designed to create a more personalized, engaging learning experience for students.

  • abstract interconnected AI neural networks merging into a single central hub

    OpenAI to Consolidate AI Models with GPT-5 Launch

    OpenAI has canceled plans to release its o3 model, opting instead for a "simplified" product lineup centered on its upcoming GPT-5 product.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • laptop displaying cybersecurity and financial charts, next to a locked safe and stacked gold coins

    Majority of Districts Lack Dedicated Cybersecurity Funding

    According to a recent CoSN survey, most school districts (61%) do not have dedicated funding to keep networks and data secure, instead relying on general funds to pay for cybersecurity efforts.