Yesterday, the Baker administration announced the creation of STEM-Tech Career Academies – a new education model that will put high school students on pathways to STEM careers.

Based heavily on the P-TECH high school model that has been successful in other states and that MBAE has been advocating to bring to Massachusetts, each STEM-Tech Career Academy will consist of a partnership between a high school, a higher education institution, and an employer(s) and will integrate high school and college coursework and lead to an industry-recognized associate degree or technical certificate for all students at no cost to them. The administration’s commitment of $6.5 million in grant funding is intended to start up and scale up 4 to 6 schools with a targeted opening in September 2024. Enrollment will be focused on students under-represented in STEM.

MBAE is proud to have played a lead role in helping to bring this model of high school to Massachusetts. MBAE published a paper and hosted an event making the case for these programs, pushed the Baker Administration to use federal COVID relief money to launch them, and helped secure funding in the economic development bill to ensure new programs had multi-year funding to cover the costs of planning, implementation, and launch. This is another important step toward our goal of ensuring that every high school in the Commonwealth gives students a jump start on a future career by allowing them to earn college credits and credentials necessary for good paying jobs and economic mobility.

Read more about STEM-Tech Career Academies.