Panel, Conference Presentation
STEM Education: Preparing Kids for Jobs Their Parents Don't Understand
Milken InstituteCaroline Fairchild, Kimberly Bryant, Stanley Litlow, Tom Khalil, Brent Bushnell, Doug Mellinger, Gloria Condrup, Precious Baskin
- Approximately 1.4 million STEM-related jobs are projected to be created over the next five years.
- Women currently representing 12% of computer science degree recipients are expected to face a drastic decline, with middle school girls' interest in STEM projected to drop to around 3% by high school.
- Remedial course participation predicts high attrition rates, with 99% of Queensborough Community College STEM students taking two remedial courses expected to drop out by the end of the first semester and 65% leaving within six weeks.
- A White House initiative aims to recruit 100,000 high-quality math and science teachers by 2021 using public and private commitments, utilizing models like UTeach for early classroom exposure.
- Concerns exist regarding tech companies hiring faculty and graduate students, potentially depleting the workforce available to teach the next generation.
- IBM plans to launch a free Watson-based teacher advisor mobile application for all US teachers before the end of the current calendar year.
- P-TECH program outcomes anticipate 50% of graduates securing IBM jobs starting at $53,000 annually with a signing bonus, while the other 50% pursue full scholarships to private or public colleges.
- Employers intend to hire skilled students by establishing feeder paths starting in the ninth grade rather than relying solely on college graduates.
- Future federal legislation is expected to prioritize career and technical education funding where labor markets show high-wage job opportunities.
- Federal work-study programs may be restructured to support paid internships and credit-bearing roles instead of limiting them to on-campus positions.
- The P-TECH model, currently operating in six states with roughly 110 partner companies, requires broader corporate involvement to achieve scalability and replication.
- TechHire and paid apprenticeship models are anticipated to expand, with mayors potentially requesting similar programs for their cities if results are demonstrated.
- Kimberly Gerlach anticipates students completing Advanced Placement Computer Science by 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, with potential career outcomes including industry or business ownership.
- Parental engagement is expected to increase through workshops on financial and job skills, potentially transforming parents into support systems and change agents.
- Tom Khalil expresses uncertainty regarding whether increased technology funding will yield classroom differences, noting a lack of convincing large-scale demonstrations of transformative impact.