Q: What role does building equity in education play in bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world STEM opportunities?
A: We believe that a student’s zip code should not determine their exposure to real-world people or opportunities. Using a digital-first approach and ensuring equitable access to content, we can provide all students with learning experiences and exposure to careers to which they may not have otherwise had access to or known about.
Additionally, we have a responsibility to ensure that the content students and teachers use is representative of the diverse array of people, places, and careers that surround us. One example of how we do that is with the STEM Careers Coalition, an alliance of industries and non-profit organizations collaborating to create equitable access to free STEM content and career connections. With partners like COX, United Airlines, Nucor, LyondellBasell, and many others, the Coalition helps students develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in college and a career through high-quality classroom resources, career exploration tools, after school activities, digital content, and more.
Since 2019, the STEM Careers Coalition has reached over 10.8 million students ahead of the 2025 goal. This includes 2.97 million students reached in the 2023-2024 school year alone, 65% of whom are from Title I schools. Bringing in a balanced lens to content creation also catalyzes bridging the gap between classrooms and real-world career opportunities in STEM.
Q: How can partnerships measure their impact on both student career pathways and workforce diversity?
A: Partnerships come in many shapes and sizes, so I want to be careful not to paint a broad brushstroke here.
One important metric Discovery Education tracks is how students use resources. For example, we look at engagement and how it changes over time. Looking at the STEM Careers Coalition resources, there was a 49% increase in interactions year-over-year, as well as a 60% increase in website page views. This continued growth, for the 5th consecutive school year, highlights the importance and success of our collective efforts in advancing K–12 STEM education.
Workforce diversity is a much longer-tail measurement. Education partnerships in K-12 serve to build a broader base of students interested, aware, and ready for various post-secondary pathways. Diversity metrics in those pathways (CTE, apprenticeships, 2- and 4-year colleges, etc.) provide predictive information for what will ultimately be reflected in changes to workplace diversity.
Q: In what ways does the STEM Careers Coalition empower students from underrepresented communities to explore STEM fields?
A: Principally, by prioritizing a diverse employee base and various industries, we are opening the aperture of what many students traditionally see as role models or model industries. For example, career profiles and accompanying classroom activities can be filtered not only by industry and job type, but also by diversity themes like Hispanic leaders in STEM, Black leaders in STEM, women leaders in STEM, and more.
Q: How does collaboration between educators and industry leaders create accessible, impactful resources for students and teachers?
A: We frequently hear that educators aren’t aware of the jobs of the future. but are responsible for preparing students for that next chapter. And research makes that nexus clear: the recent Education Insights Reportconducted by Harris shows that while 88% of district leaders, teachers, parents, and students rate life skills as “very important,” only 57% of students believe their schools adequately teach the life skills needed for future success. Furthermore, according to the report, over two-thirds of today’s students feel their education is not evolving to meet their workplace needs, and three out of four adults agree.
By creating a conduit through partnership, we can close this two-sided knowledge gap. In this, the resources we can create are directly relatable, valuable, and contextual for educators. By bringing diverse industries together in one place for educators, initiatives like the STEM Careers Coalition, allows students to see the breadth of opportunity in STEM and the similarities in critical thinking skill sets that are pertinent across careers.
Q: Can you share an example of collaboration between education and industry leaders you are most excited about in 2025?
A: Yes – actually through our partnership with CECP, we have launched a series of round table dialogues called Building Pathways, built to bring education and industry leaders together for dialogue around the opportunities and challenges in supporting today’s young people to prepare them for the workforce of tomorrow.
We are hosting these conversations across diverse communities in the United States and look forward to sharing the themes from these honest dialogues in 2025 and beyond.
Another thing we are excited about is Career Connect, an online tool to help educators find professionals for virtual classroom meetings to share their career journey and insights from their occupation. With Career Connect, teachers can request virtual classroom visits from industry professionals based on job types, industries, language preferences, and location. Plus, students get to meet with people from industries or careers they may not have previously considered while companies have a powerful way to activate employee volunteerism. This is just another example of bridging industry and education together.