Southern Oregon STEM Hub’s mission is to create a learner-focused ecosystem of STEM/CTE/Career-Related learning experiences and pathways that will benefit students, teachers, families, and industries in our regional community.

The Southern Oregon STEM Hub has the overall purpose of using a collective impact approach that will help southern Oregon attain the 40-40-20 goals. In order to accomplish this overall purpose, the Southern Oregon STEM Hub has the following goals:

1)  Students – Provide the full range of students (PK – 20) with STEM/CTE/Career-related learning pathways and experiences that will enhance their STEM knowledge and skills plus their positive attitudes about STEM

2) Educators – Provide pre-service and in-service educators with STEM/CTE/Career-related learning experiences that will improve their STEM content knowledge and their abilities to teach STEM plus their positive attitudes about STEM

3) Equity – Increase the diversity (racial, ethnic, gender, socio-economic, geographic) of students and teachers involved in STEM/CTE/Career-related pathways and activities

4) Economy – Use a collaborative network of formal and informal education organizations, community groups, and business and industry partners in order to build STEM/CTE/Career-related learning experiences and skills that will build and bolster STEM-related businesses and industries in the southern Oregon region.

• Increase creativity in student approaches to problems and solutions by establishing innovation and creativity as an integral part of STEM.
• Increase the number of students who graduate high school and enter, persist in, and complete post-secondary training and education in STEM/CTE fields
• Increase the prevalence of inquiry-based activities in early learning and elementary environments
• Increase student interest and motivation in STEM
• Increase positive STEM identity, especially in grades 4-8
• Increase participation in out-of-school STEM experiences and programs
• Increase access to computer science instruction and activities
• Increase early college credit in STEM subjects (AP/IB/Dual-credit)
• Increase students taking STEM-related elective courses
• Increase STEM career awareness
• Increase investment, identity, and engagement related to STEM in traditionally underrepresented populations (girls, lower socio-economic, rural, etc.)

Educators (including teachers, administrators, informal educators, and faculty) Outcomes

• Increase educator pedagogical content knowledge in STEM subjects
• Increase relationships among formal, informal educators and institutions in order to leverage existing resources and expertise.
• Increase educator understanding of, and experience with, ways in which STEM content is applied in STEM fields
• Increase educator use of inquiry-based/problem-based learning approaches
• Increase educator access to high-quality STEM professional development (CCSS, NGSS, CTE, applied) and resources
• Increase interactions between educators and STEM professionals in classrooms, workplaces, and the community
• Increase the pool of qualified STEM/CTE educators with experience in STEM/CTE careers
• Increase availability of high-quality instructional materials and resources that support and promote effective STEM education
• Increase creativity in teacher approach to problems and solutions by establishing innovation, aesthetics, and creativity as integral parts of STEM.

Community Outcomes

• Increase parental and community awareness of the value of STEM learning, outside of school learning experiences and career opportunities.
• Increase access to multi-generational STEM learning experiences.
• Increase parental and community support for STEM education programs
• Increase partnerships between schools, the informal STEM community, and local stakeholders/businesses
• Increase availability and access to community informal STEM providers and  STEM programs

Workforce/Economic Outcomes

• Increase regional businesses’ access to a highly skilled workforce in STEM fields by using a demand-driven approach to the design of STEM programs, activities, and initiatives, guided by the real-world needs of the region’s high-tech and STEM-related sectors.
• Increase alignment of dual-credit programs, degrees, and certificates with high-wage, high-demand occupations (i.e., decrease STEM/CTE employment gaps), using business input and labor market projections.
• Increase connections between students and local industries and employers, in order for students to experience the real-world applications of STEM learning in the workforce, and for businesses to connect in meaningful ways with the future STEM workforce they require to thrive and grow within our region.
• Increase public and private STEM research outputs
• Aspire to increase the number of Oregonians filling STEM-related jobs in Oregon (i.e., decrease proportion of STEM jobs filled by imported talent.)
• Provide inspiration, knowledge, and incentives to increase small-business startups in STEM fields

STEM Hub Infrastructure

• Engage stakeholders from multiple sectors and across the P-20 education continuum to ensure a common vision, integration of resources and expertise, and outcomes.