12 Companies Trying to Help The Education Crisis

An educational system in crisis is a big problem for companies, cutting off the pool of talented candidates, declining the economy, and creating a strain on resources, so it’s not hard to see why companies want to help solve the education crisis. Many companies are putting their vast resources to work in order to improve educational outcomes, including working to stop high school dropouts, spreading STEM education, and offering educational opportunities to underserved populations. Which companies are really going to work to help the education crisis? Read on to find out.

1. Intel:

   Intel has spoken out about the crisis in the U.S. education, pointing out that the education system is “failing the youth of today.” Craig Barrett, Intel chairman, has encouraged U.S. politicians to recognize the problem and act on it, particularly by bringing in good teachers. But Intel isn’t just talking about the education crisis: it’s working to solve it, giving $1 billion to support education, offering programs that share access, promote quality learning, and advance innovation.

2. Target:

   Major retailer Target has made educational impact a corporate goal, offering support, programs, and activities ranging from book donations to free museum days. But Target’s biggest impact is with money, and the corporation has set a goal to give $1 billion for education by the end of the 2015 fiscal year. Target’s major focus is on child literacy.

3. Cisco:

   Cisco has joined the ranks of companies that have given $1 billion or more to support education in recent years, with particular attention paid to curbing the high school dropout crisis. Through the Whole School Whole Child program, Cisco provides support for “near-peer” tutors that can help keep at-risk kids from dropping out.

4. IBM:

   IBM gives millions to ensure that the world becomes a better place to become educated, working to improve educational opportunities worldwide. Through the Reinventing Education program, IBM brings groups together to identify barriers, develop solutions, and implement these solutions to create a better educational environment. More than 10 million children have enjoyed the benefits of their programs, including their early childhood interactive learning centers.

5. Goldman Sachs:

   Goldman Sachs has given at least $100 million to support education and help solve the educational crisis. Goldman Sachs Gives makes education a priority, especially supporting diverse educational opportunities for low-income communities and offering need-based scholarships. The investor has been especially insightful into the needs of the education crisis with its 10,000 Women program, a global initiative that offers a business and management education to 10,000 underserved female entrepreneurs.

6. AT&T:

   AT&T is a major supporter educational solutions, offering the AT&T Aspire program that helps to address the high school dropout program with a socially innovative approach to engaging at-risk students. At a higher level, AT&T has a focus on STEM education as a major sponsor of the 2012 U.S. News STEM Solutions Summit in Dallas, making STEM a focus of its educational philanthropy.

7. Facebook:

   Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has committed to donate at least $100 million to education, working to improve schools in Newark, New Jersey. The city’s schools have had the test scores and graduation rates that are among the lowest in New Jersey, and Zuckerberg’s gift is poised to help turn things around.

8. Microsoft:

   Microsoft products have long been a staple of educational technology, and the corporation is working to make sure that they can benefit education in other ways, with programs like the Imagine Cup, Elevate America, DigiGirlz, and Microsoft Students to Business. These programs focus on helping students explore careers in technology and business, and even provide free or low-cost training resources for employment.

9. Coursera:

   Companies like Coursera, EdX, and Udacity are creating massively open online courses, often known as MOOCs, to offer free online education from some of the most prestigious universities in the world. Experts in education are excited about what Coursera and its counterparts have to offer in terms of turning education around, as they lower the cost of sharing high-quality education and make it widely available worldwide.

10. Knewton:

    Experts believe that Knewton, an adaptive learning company partnered with educational giant Pearson, is poised to solve the global education crisis. This company has created a disruptive model that customizes educational content for each user, offering a super-personalized, different learning experience for every student based on their learning style, preferences, and abilities.

11. Hewlett-Packard:

    Another tech giant that’s helping education in a major way is HP, making STEM education an important focus of philanthropy. Through the HP Catalyst Initiative, the company hopes to share innovative ways of learning and teaching with more than 250,000 students. Plus, HP’s products including Virtual Classroom Services help to create real-time, cost-effective virtual learning environments.

12. Coca-Cola:

    A staple of many college campuses, Coca-Cola has many initiatives to help solve the education crisis, including dropout prevention, educational infrastructure development, business-education partnerships, and more. The Coca-Cola Scholars Program has been around since 1986, offering scholarships to students going to college, especially students who are the first in their families to go to college.