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The Partnership for Career Development (PCD) received $500,000 from the state Department of Education for a STEM Collaborative Alliance for Learning Equitably (“SCALE”).
Enola-based PCD’s proposal was awarded to enhance and further develop a comprehensive, cross-sector, systems approach to growing partnerships between local education agencies, postsecondary institutions, businesses, libraries, afterschool organizations, and other STEM-focused organizations.
The organization said it will also improve access to STEM experiences for learners of all ages, including historically underserved populations with its SCALE.
PCD’s more than 25 years as a business-education partnership intermediary for career and workforce readiness, utilizes a state-recognized collaborative consortium model to forward this work across multiple sectors, it said in a press release.
State-level funding support allows PCD to increase its capacity to allow focused attention on programs and initiatives that can address specific populations, including those traditionally underserved.
PCD’s proposal includes four specific efforts, but for the purpose of this grant, will provide a means for access and equity to focus directly on STEM mid-skills-level career paths.
The SCALE multi-level system includes student career awareness through focused STEM Career Connections Programs, educator support to include professional development sessions to help demystify industry lingo and increase awareness of needs, community outreach through a STEM Career Awareness seminar series, and cradle to career regional collaborative meetings to support STEM careers with business, education, and community stakeholders, PCD said.