EnCorps, in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, is proud to participate in Beyond 100K’s Dream to Teach initiative, contributing district-based expertise to national efforts to strengthen the STEM teacher pipeline. Beyond 100K enlists organizations like EnCorps to “prepare, retain, and support diverse STEM educators.”

We share their vision of solving the teacher shortage by addressing the existing challenges aspiring teachers face directly. Our missions converge in empowering quality teacher preparation, mentorship, and sustainability. Through Dream to Teach, Beyond 100K convenes a Brain Trust of STEM education leaders to inform field-wide strategy and systems-level solutions. Here, EnCorps brings our expertise in recruiting talented candidates and creating identity-affirming mentorships. Our model focuses on practical preparation, classroom-based experience, and sustained mentorship to help aspiring STEM teachers persist through credentialing and early teaching years.

With their Dream to Teach initiative, Beyond 100K is focusing on preparing pathways for professionals who hope to teach STEM. Though many enter teacher training programs with a goal of teaching, only one in four candidates complete teacher preparation programs. Nationally, this completion gap represents a significant barrier to addressing STEM teacher shortages and is a central challenge the Dream to Teach initiative seeks to address through coordinated, field-wide solutions. Our partnership aims to support teaching candidates and close that gap.

 

Ramiro Lobo, Director of Impact and the EnCorps STEMx Tutors Program, joins the Beyond 100K Dreams of Teaching Initiative Launch.

Assembling the Brain Trust

This year, Beyond 100K assembled a “Brain Trust” advisory of thought leaders in STEM education to pull together a road map for the future. By pulling together leaders from government, nonprofits, and education, they are bringing the brightest lights from the STEM world around one table to clear a path for sustainable teaching training pipelines.

Their recommendations for action are outlined in the report Charting a Path for Those Who Dream to Teach.

Transforming Training Through “THRIVE”

The Dream to Teach launch featured the THRIVE Framework to center the global majority in STEM careers, outlined in the diagrams below. The Thrive philosophy centers on creating a more equitable learning environment for STEM teachers and students. Through systems-level change and shared responsibility across the field; the framework emphasizes conditions that support persistence, belonging, and long-term success for STEM educators in training.

The Dream to Teach launch featured the THRIVE Framework.

Mentoring Mentorship

EnCorps supports the transition of mid-career professionals into CTE and STEM teaching by helping districts put strong, practical support in place once new teachers enter the classroom.

In partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, EnCorps co-developed a school-site-based mentorship structure in which experienced teachers mentor new teachers in the classroom. Mentors conduct in-person observations and provide structured coaching and feedback aligned to district expectations, helping new educators navigate the realities of their first years of teaching.

EnCorps’ role is to design and support the implementation of this mentorship structure in collaboration with district partners, with a focus on sustainability and instructional quality. By investing in well-designed, site-based mentorship, EnCorps helps strengthen teacher retention and build long-term capacity within district STEM programs.

This district-embedded approach contributes to the broader goals of Beyond 100K’s Dream to Teach initiative by advancing scalable, practice-based models that support new STEM teachers where they need it most, in the classroom.

Coming Together for the Future of STEM

When 75% of passionate and capable potential teachers are not graduating from their teacher preparation programs with a teaching certificate, it is time to mobilize our shared efforts. In cooperation with Beyond 100K’s Dream to Teach initiative, EnCorps is facilitating efforts to recruit and train a talented and diverse STEM teacher pipeline.

Sources

    1. Beyond 100K https://beyond100k.org/
    2. Charting a Path for Those Who Dream to Teach https://drive.google.com/file/d/11-vn594CRNtVASDUaHa9NAmAIRwUEAmM/view
    3. Meet the Beyond 100K Brain Trust https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iGInhaMuXtKoynqEdXalzg9tJC7aZPoc/view
    4. EnCorps STEM Educators Ignite a Passion for STEM https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm#inbox/FMfcgzQfBshlXbVMgrWVlSwDwLFnWLzm?projector=1
    5. Ramiro Lobo, Director of Impact and STEMx Tutors Program https://encorps.org/team/ramiro-lobo/