The Powerful Link Between STEM and Early Childhood Education JD Chesloff Executive Director, MBR Chair, Governor’s STEM Advisory CouncilExecutive Committee Chair, Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care

HOW DO WE GET CHILDREN FROM HERE …

…TO HERE?

OR FROM HERE…

… TO HERE?

OR HERE…

…TO HERE?

WITHOUT ENDING UP… HERE?

THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE…START HERE:

WE HAVE A PROBLEM…

SUPPLY OF WORKERS IS LOW… 76M baby boomers will soon retire, and only 51M people are in line to replace them…creating a “worker gap” of 25M. (Pew Center on the States) 20% of US workers are functionally illiterate (US Chamber of Commerce); and 1 in 5 adults lacks the math competence expected of a middle-schooler (Washington Post) Of the 39M young adults aged 17 – 24, 75% do not qualify to join the military (Pentagon) More than half of US postsecondary students drop out without receiving a degree. (Center for American Progress/Center for the Next Generation)

…Yet Demand in STEM is High In the next 10 years, STEM jobs will grow by 17%, compared to 9.8% for all other occupations. Across the US, all occupations, there are 3.6 people for every 1 job. In STEM, there is 1 person for every 1.9 jobs.

AND STEM JOBS ARE GOOD JOBS Median salary for engineering majors is $91K, the highest of any profession.

YET…NEARLY ONE THIRD OF AMERICANS WOULD RATHER: Clean Their Bathrooms……Than Do A Math Problem.

RAYTHEON SURVEYED 1,000 MIDDLE SCHOOLERS “Would you rather eat broccoli or do math homework?” The Winner… With 56 % of the Vote…

“If math skills are such an important component of academic success, and people would rather be cleaning their bathroom or eating broccoli, we have a problem. This is important to the country’s long term competitiveness because today’s young children are tomorrow’s workforce. Workers who are fluent in math and other STEM competencies will be more prepared and qualified to fill the jobs that our innovation economy demands.”

PROBLEM “Supply is low, demand is high. There is a mismatch between projected future jobs requiring STEM skills and the projected supply of qualified workers to fill them.”

SOLUTION The Powerful Connection Between Early Childhood and STEM

RESEARCH CONFIRMS… The brain is particularly receptive to learning math and logic between the ages of 1 and 4 Early math concepts are the most powerful predictors of later learning “There are no better natural scientists and engineers than young children”

STEM CONCEPTS ARE INNATE IN YOUNG CHILDREN…

…AND ARE THE SAME CONCEPTS IN DEMAND BY EMPLOYERS

HIGH QUALITY EARLY EDUCATION IS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Cuts rate of students being held back a grade in half; Increases high school attendance by 1/3; Increases college attendance by 80%!; Increases employment by 23%.

BUSINESS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ADVOCATE Reports, Boards, Coalitions INFILTRATE Legislation, Public Policy, Seminars EDUCATE Ready Nation Programs

WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO…

CONCLUSION “To remain competitive in the global economy, investment is needed to ensure a workforce pipeline that would rather engage in science, technology, engineering, and math than clean bathrooms and eat broccoli. And the best way to shore up that pipeline is to start investing in it early.”

QUESTIONS?