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The children in preschools this fall will graduate from high school in 2024. They do not know it yet, as they play and learn with blocks and paints, but their future will be even more closely tied to the science and technology, engineering and mathematics that already pervade our everyday lives.
Even today, the vast majority of the fastest-growing professions require significant scientific or mathematical training. Positions in those fields are increasing far more quickly than in the overall job market. And jobs in science-related fields pay nearly three times as much as the average job. But Florida, like much of the United States, is not preparing its children for that future. The state’s students trail national averages in math and science, and lag behind a long list of fast-developing countries in both fields. That slow start ripples through to the country’s higher-education system, where fewer students are graduating with science and engineering degrees. And that comes as businesses in Florida and nationwide desperately seek more workers with skills in science, technology, and math to help them compete against established and emerging economies.For those reasons, Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice is investing more than $2.5 million in a five-year initiative at eight secondary schools in Sarasota and Charlotte counties. It aims to improve achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—known collectively to educators and industry as STEM.
We encourage our nonprofit partners to learn more about how they can become involved in our STEM Education Initiative and collaborate with us through the Foundation's Innovation Grants.
Read the press release announcing the new STEM Education initiative
Read a narrative of the initiative's goals and creation
Read a Backgrounder on the STEM initiative
Background Since 2000, Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice has been providing resources and funding to secondary education, primarily in the science and math areas, as part of an initiative called Strategic Grantmaking in Education. A recent assessment commissioned by the Foundation Board indicated that retaining educated youth and preparing our workforce for targeted future industries are critical issues for our region. Meanwhile, conversations with local school administrators, teachers, and students reinforced that science and math were areas that could be improved. To the Foundation’s Board, the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) movement, in its infancy in Florida and nationwide, provided next-generation thinking and groundbreaking change for our community. Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s STEM education initiative aims to: - Help local schools embrace Florida’s new, more rigorous Next Generation standards
- Assist teachers in teaching these new standards through professional development
- Help students apply these standards in the workforce through internships
- Rally the community with a public information campaign about the importance of STEM
With the launch of the initiative, the Foundation and the districts join a growing national movement to provide teachers with the training and tools they need to prepare their students for the changing world.
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