English teacher Christina Anderson examines her school's laboratory to figure out how her writing students could use the equipment to do assignments. Physics teacher Chris Lee takes students to the lab and encourages them to find a niche and space. Jim Lynch forges partnerships with local businesses to help students become equipped to enter the workforce.
With shortages in skilled high-tech jobs, school districts like Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan are stepping out to bridge the divide between what they teach and what employers are looking for in workers.
For example, Apple Valley High School's "E3 STEM" program has partnered with local businesses and colleges on creative ways to connect high schoolers on STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and math — and make the transition to college and the workforce smooth.
"Almost every career field will have some aspect of STEM in it," said Lynch, the "E3 STEM" program manager for Apple Valley High School. "And If we're not exposing our kids and not trying to get them to consider fields in STEM, they're kind of being cut out of some of the most high[est] paying, rapid growing job fields out there."
The "E3 STEM" — exploration, education and employment in science, technology, engineering and math — is designed to gauge students' interest in STEM-related fields, while giving them a jump-start in real-life work experiences and teamwork. Students have taken field trips to the Mayo Clinic to learn about respiratory health, spent time interning with major corporations and are building promotional materials for employers in their school's laboratory.
The program was launched nearly four years ago thanks to a $2.99 million Youth Career Connect grant, making the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District one of just two in Minnesota to receive it. The federal grant helps school officials get the training they need to prepare students for STEM careers or college coursework and made a "Fab Lab," or fabrication lab, equipped with tools such as laser engravers, vinyl cutters, UV and 3-D printers, a reality.
Meanwhile, STEM programming is getting another national push. In September the White House directed the Department of Education to spend $200 million annually on grants that foster science, technology, engineering and math education.
Improving STEM education, especially for kids of color and girls, has been the focus in the school district, Lynch said. "They're severely underrepresented" in those fields.