This fall semester, EnCorps strengthened its STEM education impact across California classrooms by connecting students with industry professionals through Volunteer Guest Teaching and expanding academic support through our STEMx Tutoring Program.

Volunteer Guest Teaching and STEM Education Impact in Classrooms

During the fall semester, EnCorps Fellows stepped into middle and high school classrooms as volunteer guest teachers, sharing their real-world STEM expertise with students across a ten-week experience. This work represents a core part of EnCorps’ STEM education impact, embedding real-world professionals directly into classroom learning.

For Fellows, the experience was transformational:

  • 100% said volunteer guest teaching was a beneficial experience for them
  • 100% said it helped inform their pathway toward teaching

Fellows reported increased confidence in the classroom, stronger lesson delivery and student engagement skills, and clearer insight into whether teaching is the right next step. As one Fellow reflected, “I didn’t realize how important just being in a classroom teaching environment could help me grow so quickly.”

Student Impact: Curiosity, Confidence, and Career Awareness

The impact on students was equally powerful. This fall, EnCorps collected 539 student responses, offering a window into how volunteer guest teaching resonated in classrooms:

  • 89% said the volunteer helped them understand why STEM matters
  • 84% said the experience increased their awareness of STEM opportunities

Students consistently highlighted how Fellows made learning more relatable, connecting classroom concepts to real careers, sharing personal stories, and offering encouragement. One student shared, “She showed us different careers and how the skills we’re learning are used.” Another noted the power of supportive teaching: “She made me understand it clearly without judgment.”

STEMx Tutoring: Personalized Support That Works

STEMx tutoring further strengthens EnCorps’ STEM education impact by providing consistent, personalized academic support to students who need it most. During the fall semester:

  • 1,392 hours of tutoring were delivered
  • 141 students received tutoring support
  • 96% of students agreed that tutoring helped them in math class

Beyond academics, STEMx tutoring built confidence and relationships. Tutors described the impact of meeting students where they are, academically and emotionally. One tutor shared how a student who initially refused to turn on their camera gradually became more engaged after trust was built, calling it “a rewarding experience to witness a student feeling seen, understood, and accepted.”

Learning, Motivation, and Joy—On Both Sides of the Screen

For tutors, STEMx also served as a meaningful professional experience. Several reflected that tutoring helped them rediscover their interest in teaching, sharpen their communication skills, and reconnect with the joy of learning through students’ curiosity and imagination.

Looking Ahead

This fall semester reaffirmed EnCorps’ belief that early classroom experiences and personalized academic tutoring are powerful drivers of student success and teacher pipeline development. Whether through a Fellow stepping into a classroom for the first time or a tutor helping a student master a challenging math concept, EnCorps is helping students see what’s possible and helping professionals imagine themselves as the teachers our schools need. Together, these outcomes reflect EnCorps’ growing STEM education impact, strengthening student learning today while building a sustainable pipeline of future STEM educators.

As we move into the spring, we’re excited to build on this momentum and continue strengthening the bridge between STEM careers and classrooms.