Our complex and changing world demands an adaptable workforce that is prepared to collaboratively reason through tough problems and come up with creative solutions to the challenges of tomorrow. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) educational opportunities cultivate students’ curiosity and creativity while teaching them to work as a team, base their reasoning on evidence, and solve problems through experimentation. Our students must gain the critical thinking abilities and other transferrable skills offered by STEM to be prepared for the unknown challenges and opportunities of our future. As such, education in STEM must be elevated as a national priority by enacting education reforms, crafting policies to drive innovation, and adapting federal and state spending priorities. Imagine STEM learning opportunities as a network of charging stations across the country. Kids power up their STEM skills by plugging into immersive activities extending beyond the standard school day, including hobby clubs, afterschool and summer programs, museums, parks, and online activities. In communities without enough of these outlets, children miss the chance to charge their learning outside of school. That lack of extra STEM practice can have a draining effect on the knowledge and skills they accrue at school. Exposure to formal and informal learning in STEM subjects, beginning at an early age and continuing through high school, prepares our nation’s students for the future ahead. Supporting quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education for all children and youth is therefore vital to our country’s social and economic prosperity. The purpose of this white paper is to summarize what we know, what we are still striving to learn, and what we must do through public policy to achieve this goal.
Associated Projects
TEAM MEMBERS
STEM Education Coalition Policy Forum
Citation
Funders
Private Foundation
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