Press Release: 10/21/2025

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Nearly $5.4 Million for Innovation Career Pathways Programs

 



Planning grants expand Innovation Career Pathways to ten new high schools in Massachusetts



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



10/21/2025



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Jason Law, Press Secretary and Events Coordinator



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Call Jason Law, Press Secretary and Events Coordinator at 617-895-6556



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BOURNE — As part of Massachusetts STEM Week, the Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced nearly $5.4 million in grants to expand Innovation Career Pathways programs that give high school students hands-on learning experiences in high-demand STEM fields. This investment includes planning grants for 26 high schools, ten of which are first-time applicants, as well as implementation grants for 88 high schools to sustain existing pathways. Through these programs, students explore STEM-related careers, take advanced coursework, and gain real-world experience through internships and work-based learning — all at no cost to them.



“STEM Week reminds us that innovation isn’t just a future goal — it’s happening here and now,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Massachusetts is a national leader in innovation education because we don’t just set the bar — we raise it. Through Innovation Career Pathways and partnerships like the one Bourne High School, we’re showing that STEM learning starts early, continues throughout life, and leads directly to opportunity in our communities and our economy.”           



“We’re thrilled that nearly 30 percent of eligible high schools are offering Innovation Career Pathways this school year,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “These programs don’t just give students real-world experience — they connect them to the industries driving Massachusetts’ future. That’s why we’re investing in more planning grants, so even more students can access these opportunities. STEM Week is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when schools, employers, and communities work together to open new doors for our students.”



This school year, Innovation Career Pathways are offered in nearly 30 percent of eligible high schools across Massachusetts, engaging more than 8,500 students in 262 pathways across 117 schools. The planning grants announced today will help high schools design new pathways that align with local workforce needs, particularly in high demand industries like advanced manufacturing, information technology, environmental and life sciences, clean energy, and health care. These grants also support partnerships between schools, employers, higher education institutions, and workforce boards to ensure students are learning skills relevant to their regional economies.



“Transforming the high school experience means giving students the tools and opportunities to see what’s possible for their future — and Innovation Career Pathways do exactly that,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “During STEM Week, it’s incredible to see how students light up when learning becomes hands-on, purposeful, and connected to the world around them.”



“We want students to have access to learning that connects them to jobs in the Massachusetts innovation economy,” said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez. Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez. “Innovation Career Pathways help show students how what they’re learning today can lead to a promising job tomorrow.” 



“I have been working closely with the Healey-Driscoll Administrations’ Executive Office of Education (EOE) on making significant investments in public education in the Commonwealth. I’m proud to have helped secure over $5.4 million in Career Pathways Programs that provide high school students direct experience in the critical STEM educational discipline. The Apponequet Regional High School, serving Freetown and Lakeville in my district, will receive an important planning grant to lay the foundation for these students to compete in a global economy. These grants will enable students to take advanced coursework and gain real-world experience through internships and work-based learning, great news to recognize Massachusetts STEM Week!” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. 



“Congratulations to the many high schools receiving grants this year as we expand the Innovation Career Pathways statewide program,” said Senator Jason Lewis (D-5thMiddlesex), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. “These programs provide new avenues for students to explore a number of high-demand industries and have more hands-on learning opportunities while in high school.”



 “The Innovation Career Pathways program opens doors to life-changing opportunities for our high school students,” said Representative Ken Gordon (D-Bedford), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. “By offering hands-on STEM education, we are empowering students to shape their futures and strengthening our workforce."  



This announcement took place at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, which partners with Bourne High School on an Early College pilot, one of the programs under the administration’s Reimagining High School initiative. Bourne High School currently offers four Innovation Career Pathways and is receiving a grant to plan a new pathway. The administration joined local officials to celebrate this event as a part of Massachusetts STEM Week 2025, held Monday, October 20 through Friday, October 24, which celebrates the message that “STEM Starts Now.” STEM Week highlights that at any age — from our youngest learners to adult learners — everyone can engage with STEM and discover opportunities that connect curiosity to career. Across the state, schools, employers, and communities are coming together to show that STEM learning and STEM jobs are happening here and now in Massachusetts, driving innovation and opportunity in every region of the state.



“At Bourne Public Schools, our district vision — ‘Inspired to learn, empowered to explore, and prepared to act’ — is alive and thriving at Bourne High School, where—even as a small, traditional high school—we are reimagining education,” said Bourne Public Schools Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou. “In less than five years, we have built a dynamic Innovation Career Pathways program that has transformed the high school experience. We believe deeply in the pathway model because it gives every student access to engaging, hands-on learning experiences that connect academic content to meaningful, future-focused opportunities.”



In 2023, the administration launched a new Clean Energy Pathway, now offered in 10 schools. Since taking office, the administration has expanded Innovation Career Pathways to 82 additional high schools, adding 132 new programs across the state. Through the administration’s broader Reimagining High School initiative, Massachusetts is investing in programs that connect classroom learning to real-world experience and emerging industries. Just yesterday, the administration awarded $13.5 Million in Skills Capital Grants to expand access to hands-on learning opportunities and state-of-the-art technology in schools and colleges across Massachusetts. Over the past two and a half years, the administration has approved 49 new Career Technical Education (CTE) programs and opened applications for $60 million in CTE capital grants to create more than 2,000 new CTE seats. These investments build on expansions to Early College programs, work-based learning opportunities, and My Career and Academic Plan (MyCAP).



“Massachusetts Maritime Academy is fortunate to have a longstanding collaborative relationship with Bourne High School, and our partnership with them on the Early College Program provides even more opportunities for all of our students to explore a variety of careers,” said Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, USMS, president of Massachusetts Maritime Academy. “We’re incredibly grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for creating this program under their Reimagining High School Initiative, and to have had the opportunity to welcome Secretary Tutwiler, Commissioner Martinez, and other representatives from the Commonwealth to demonstrate how we’re incorporating virtual STEM into practical and hands-on learning as well as discuss co-op and internship opportunities and post-college pathways.”



Innovation Career Pathways Planning Grant Recipients:




  • Agawam High School, Agawam Public Schools

  • Arlington High School, Arlington Public Schools*

  • Bellingham High School, Bellingham Public Schools

  • Bourne High School, Bourne Public Schools

  • Brockton High School, Brockton Public Schools

  • Clinton High School, Clinton Public Schools

  • Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District*

  • Foxborough High School, Foxborough Public Schools*

  • Apponequet Regional High School, Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District

  • Haverhill High School, Haverhill Public Schools

  • Holliston High School, Holliston Public Schools

  • Hull High School, Hull Public Schools*

  • Lenox Memorial High School, Lenox Public Schools

  • City Arts and Sciences Academy (CASA) at Fecteau-Leary, Lynn Public Schools*

  • Maynard High School, Maynard Public Schools

  • Monomoy Regional School District, Monomoy Regional School District*

  • Monson High School, Monson Public Schools*

  • Pembroke High School, Pembroke Public Schools*

  • Quabbin Regional High School, Quaboag Regional School District

  • Reading Memorial High School, Reading Public Schools

  • Seekonk High School, Seekonk Public Schools*

  • Swampscott High School, Swampscott Public Schools

  • Uxbridge High School, Uxbridge Public Schools

  • Wachusett Regional High School, Wachusett Regional School District

  • Walpole High School, Walpole Public Schools

  • Watertown High School, Watertown Public Schools*



*First time ICP recipients