TALENT DEVELOPMENT
PRnewswire | May 02, 2023
Today, Stemuli—a gaming company at the intersection of AI, education, and workforce development—announced the merger of Infinity.careers and Oppti into Stemuli, with all companies focused on providing career navigation tools to empower students with the skills needed to thrive in the 21st century economy.
Stemuli, led by Taylor Shead, Founder & CEO, is a Black and woman-owned company with a mission to provide a pathway to an intellectually and economically fulfilling career for all. Naomi Thomas, Founder of infinity.careers, will take on the role of Head of Digital for Stemuli, while Khiry Kemp, Co-founder of Oppti, will serve as Head of Operations. The company announced the merger was made possible because the three founders met in Jobs for the Future's (JFF) Entrepreneur in Residence incubator, led by JFFLabs, JFF's innovation lab, which brings together talented and driven entrepreneurs to collaborate and solve real-world problems.
"Stemuli is a shining example of what can happen when we bring together and incubate talented and driven entrepreneurs to collaborate and catalyze new ways to support people facing systemic barriers to advancement," said Kristina Francis, executive director of JFFLabs, JFF's innovation lab. "We are thrilled to see the success of our program in action, and we look forward to seeing the impact this merger will have on the future of learning."
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, access to capital is a major barrier for black entrepreneurs. Despite making up over 13% of the US population, Black-owned businesses only receive less than 1% of venture capital. The merger of Infinity.careers and Oppti into Stemuli highlights the power of Black founders coming together in a way that hasn't been done before, and demonstrates their commitment to creating new opportunities in the edtech space.
"This merger marks an important milestone for both black entrepreneurs and the edtech industry as a whole," said Taylor Shead, Founder and CEO of Stemuli. "We are excited to join forces and bring our collective expertise to create a company that truly empowers students and addresses the needs of the education system. We believe that education is the key to unlocking opportunities and driving social and economic mobility, and we are committed to making that a reality for students across the country."
About Stemuli:
Stemuli is a Black and woman-owned gaming company at the intersection of AI, education, and workforce development.Stemuli is a Black and woman-owned gaming company at the intersection of AI, education, and workforce development. Stemuli connects students to meaningful career development experiences and maintains a portfolio of students’ every achievement, certification, and development milestones to help them showcase the to the marketplace and land the job of their dreams.
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TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Melmark | March 10, 2023
On March 09, 2023, Melmark, a non-profit human service organization, started a new school facility for special education and recreational environment in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It selected Maggiore Construction Corporation with Roth and Seelen, Inc. to design and build this facility.
It conducted the groundbreaking ceremony on January 24, 2023. This facility will offer a state-of-the-art and accessible special education learning and recreational surrounding, opening in May. Its New England division presently enrolled about 132 students at its Andover school, and this new facility will educate up to 84 students. It will provide new opportunities for school districts, students, and families deprived of clinically sophisticated educational services. In addition, it would also offer job opportunities with skilled special education leaders.
This facility has a license from DESE and helps students aged 3 to 22 with an intensive individualized education approach. This approach and a behavioral framework create the learning environment needed for education. Its students are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities, having secondary to complex behavioral profiles. Melmark New England is also the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools (MAAPS) member.
President and CEO of Melmark, Rita M. Gardner said, "This is a poignant time in the history of Melmark, this is a project that was slated to start during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are thrilled to stay focused on the needs of families in our communities. We are collaborating with school professionals, families, and other stakeholders to share information about the opportunities our new school will make available, as we are keenly aware of the critical, growing need for the evidence-based services we offer. The new school building will support spacious, intentionally designed classroom environments with innovative tools for learning and skills building. This growth in MA reflects our mission and strategic goal to serve children in diverse and inclusive communities who need and deserve Melmark's specialized special education services to reach their best outcomes."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About Melmark
Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, Melmark, an individual and family services provider, specializes in applied behavior analysis, special needs, intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, autism, education, healthcare, approved private school autism and intellectual disabilities, charity and non-profit, and volunteers. It is a multi-state human service provider with special education schools, training, research centers and professional development. It has transformed the lives of individuals with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities and supporting their families since 1966. It provides evidence-based and behavior-analytic services to them daily.
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CORPORATE LEARNING SYSTEMS
PRnewswire | April 25, 2023
The State of South Carolina has once again selected WIN Learning as its career readiness assessment partner, proactively responding to business and industry demand for work-ready talent.
In collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE), WIN will lead delivery of research-based assessments measuring the foundational employability skills and soft skills each year of all 11th-grade students, spanning more than 80 school districts and 250 high schools statewide as required by state policy (SC Code § 59-18-325). Twelfth-grade students also have the opportunity to take or retake the assessments. The results benchmark district and school advancement toward ensuring all students are career-ready upon graduation. This year, school testing was conducted March 27-April 14.
"South Carolina Department of Education is a longtime partner of WIN," said Teresa Chasteen-Dunn, CEO of WIN Learning. "We are excited to continue our partnership to ensure that all South Carolina students graduate high school with the skills they need to succeed in their future careers."
Students who pass the assessments earn the South Carolina Work Ready Credential, demonstrating mastery of foundational math, reading and data analysis skills, and the South Carolina Work Ready Essential Soft Skills Credential, validating mastery of professional skills including communicating effectively, conveying professionalism, promoting teamwork and collaboration, and thinking critically and solving problems. The credentials are endorsed by the National Work Readiness Council as tools for educators, workforce development professionals, and employers to determine students' readiness for post-secondary education and technical training, apprenticeship, on-the-job training, and ultimately employment.
The WIN-powered assessments used by South Carolina have been developed in direct response to education, workforce, economic development, and business and industry demand for a common measure of students' career readiness. WIN's solutions are based on the U.S. Department of Labor O*NET Content Model Framework, which is widely recognized as the nation's primary source of occupational data. The Work Ready assessments target the transferable career readiness skills that employers in South Carolina and nationwide commonly define as essential to gain and maintain employment across industries, in occupations from entry level to professional. The assessment learning objectives correlate to the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, a set of standards for the career and life skills high school students should master by the time they graduate.
WIN was chosen as the state's foundational career readiness partner through competitive bid, ranking as the preferred provider based on expertise and experience, technical approach, and value. "South Carolina Department of Education is a longtime partner of WIN," said Teresa Chasteen, CEO of WIN Learning. "We are excited to continue our partnership to ensure that all South Carolina students graduate high school with the skills they need to succeed in their future careers."
About WIN Learning
Since 1996, WIN has become the leading provider of career readiness solutions to help business, industry, workforce and districts prepare pathways for students' and job seekers' futures, whether they are college, trade school, military or workplace bound. WIN's e-learning solutions include academic and employability skills courseware, assessments, and nationally recognized credentials endorsed by the National Work Readiness Council (www.nwrc.org). To date, more than 10 million students worldwide have participated in the specialized career-driven courseware and education intervention initiatives as well as career readiness certification programs.
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