STEM Leaders from Across the U.S. Offer Recommendations for the Biden-Harris Administration on Education and Career Pathways

CLEVELAND, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fostering collaboration is the top recommendation offered by the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice for how the Biden-Harris administration can improve STEM learning and connections to careers in communities across the country.

The STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice developed five major recommendations for how the Biden-Harris administration, as well as individual states, can improve STEM learning for all.

The recommendations, contained in a recently released report, "Restoring America's Position As A World Leader By Reinvesting in STEM," are based on a series of Town Hall sessions, surveys and focused interviews with STEM leaders, families, teachers and leaders from business, government and philanthropy from nearly every state in the country.

In addition to fostering collaboration to engage, leverage and link all relevant community resources, the contributors to the report urge the Biden-Harris administration to support steps to improve and diversify the STEM teaching pipeline and revamp evaluation systems to allow for performance-based measures with alignment to STEM postsecondary and career options.

The report also recommends creating an early learning system for STEM and encouraging student participation in STEM by increasing the visibility, relevance and connections to real-world and community challenges.

In addition to the recommendations, the report also includes examples of how STEM Learning Ecosystems are implementing the recommendations in their daily work within their regions. This offers practical, real examples of how the Biden-Harris Administration might support scaling the work. 

"The members of the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice have great hope for the Biden-Harris administration and how it will elevate STEM to improve individuals' lives and communities by improving workforce trajectories," said Jan Morrison, president and founder of TIES which operates the STEM Learning Ecosystems. 

As the lessons from the COVID pandemic and all of 2020 continue to be inventoried and analyzed, at least one is clear: Communities that are faring the best and recovering the fastest are those with deep cross-sector partnerships and systems in place to mobilize learning and share and maximize resources. STEM Learning Ecosystems have the established structures and partnerships that enabled immediate collaboration to serve community needs, including manufacturing personal protective equipment, pairing students with business owners to improve their online presence and securing and distributing computers and devices for getting online. 

Ecosystems also assisted with countless remote learning opportunities for students, including those without internet access.

The SLECoP stands as a singular, stellar example of how to form these partnerships and systems; and its leaders are eager to share their success as a model for leveraging STEM to strengthen our economy and ensure upward mobility for all.

Contact: Veronica Gonzales - [email protected]  
Alyssa Briggs - [email protected] / 330-402-1016

SOURCE STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice