Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology praised as a model for inclusive, innovative science programs – The Boston Globe

The nations secretaries of education and labor went to the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology Friday to praise the schools innovative education that can lead to career opportunities in the sciences for high school and college students from marginalized communities.

During a panel discussion at the institute, Miguel Cardona, US secretary of education and Martin J. Walsh, US secretary of labor and former Boston mayor, highlighted the importance of partnerships between K-12 schools, colleges, and employers focusing on career connected learning, or education that prepares students for real-world jobs. The institute is a shining example of what all schools across the nation can do to empower students to pursue postsecondary education, make a more equitable workforce, and rebuild the economy, they said.

Every high school in this country needs to have an early college experience program to give our students an opportunity to see what they can be even when they dont dream that high, Cardona said. You have to be an outlier if youre not doing it.

Cardona said K-12 education, postsecondary institutions, and workforce partners are too siloed, and need to be integrated through experiential learning to give all students, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic background, as many career options as possible. This reflects the Biden administrations proposed Economic Blueprint a plan to rebuild the US economy and create more high-paying job opportunities, he said.

Jayvonte Odom, who earned an associates degree in construction management from the institute in 2021 and was a speaker on the panel, said he chose to attend the college because students there looked like him and came from similar neighborhoods. Being surrounded by people like him gave him the courage to pursue a career in construction. Today, he works as an engineering assistant at Turner Construction in Boston, he said.

Massachusetts 7th District Representative Ayanna Pressley, who attended the event, said students like Odom prove that students of color are more than capable of succeeding in STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math jobs. But many of them havent been given opportunities, underscoring why institutions like the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology need to exist countrywide.

What this model [at the Institute] proves is that there is no deficit of talent. Theres only a deficit of opportunity. And that is exactly why we need to invest today, Pressley said. And when we make that investment in our human infrastructure, it yields the greatest return.

Speakers said legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which invest federal dollars into climate-change initiatives, infrastructure, and clean energy, create jobs in those fields. Cardona said its up to him and Walsh to ensure schools are preparing students, particularly students of color and women, for these new jobs, and theyre going to use the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology as a model.

Im proud that in our budget proposal, the president put out $200 million for career-connected learning. We need to systematize what Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology is doing and ensure our students have equal opportunity at success, Cardona said.

Walsh added that the Department of Labor already prioritizes creating jobs with benefits, union opportunities, and high pay for marginalized workers through The Good Jobs Initiative, and now its time to funnel those efforts where they are most needed by making STEM education more accessible to minority communities.

We need to be more focused on the industries that need people, Walsh said. Our training has to be more intentional.

To give women and people of color more career opportunities in STEM, Walsh said the Department of Labor is collaborating with the Department of Education and the American Federation of Teachers to recruit more STEM educators, investing in community colleges and postsecondary institutions, and working to expose students to STEM when theyre young.

We actually have to let young people see what the result of STEM education is, Walsh said. They have to feel it and see it.

Katie Mogg can be reached at katie.mogg@globe.com. Follow her on twitter @j0urnalistkatie

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Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology praised as a model for inclusive, innovative science programs - The Boston Globe