World’s leading provider of digital curriculum resources, digital content, and professional development for K-12 classrooms Discovery Education has recently launched a first-of-its-kind initiative, called STEM Careers Coalition, in partnership with various business leaders to accelerate the growth of America’s STEM pipeline.
The initiative aims to prepare 10 million students for the future of work by 2025 by providing no-cost access to digital content and experiences that engage students in instruction, build foundational STEM knowledge, and develop the critical 21st century skills students need for college and career success.
The partner organizations that have provided initial seed funding and support to power STEM Career Coalition’s launch include Chevron, the Manufacturing Institute, the American Petroleum Institute (API), Boeing, Microsoft, and Best Buy.
As the global leader in standards-based digital curriculum resources for K-12 classrooms, Discovery Education takes learning beyond the classroom and into the real world with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content and the largest professional development community of its kind. It currently serves more than 5 million educators and 51 million students, with its services available in approximately half of US classrooms and primary schools in the UK, and more than 90 countries around the world. The company partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to ignite student curiosity, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with standards-aligned, digital curriculum resources and easy-to-use technology.
As part of the initiative, the Coalition will provide no-cost resources to engage both educators and students in effective STEM instruction. In addition to providing no-cost STEM experiences and career resources to schools nationwide, coalition members will also underwrite Discovery STEM Connect, an interdisciplinary resource that enhances core curriculum and helps students build valuable problem-solving skills, in local communities identified by the partners.
Speaking on the initiative, Lori McFarling, President of Corporate Partnerships, Discovery Education, said,
“The STEM Careers Coalition will connect classrooms to careers at unprecedented scale. We believe that through direct investment in schools with a focus on equity of access, engagement of Coalition member employees, and exposure to digitally immersive STEM career experiences, more students will have the opportunity to envision their future in STEM and emerge as the STEM leaders of the future to fill the ever-growing careers pipeline.”
It is said that during its first five years, there will be a dedicated effort to study the execution and impact of the initiative’s efforts, anchored by a multi-year study conducted by McRel International will explore the implementation of STEM resources in classrooms supported by the Coalition.
Commenting on the initiative, Marla Wilson, Senior Director of the Coalition, said,
“Through the generosity 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 more.”
STEM Careers Coalition initiative was officially launched at an event at the Carnegie Institution for Science, featuring a keynote address by former astronaut, science advocate and NFL player Leland Melvin and a panel discussion focusing on STEM solutions and workforce preparedness. Guests at the event included leaders from education, industry and government.
