KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Hundreds of area teachers gathered at Burns & McDonnell for the fourth annual Educators Summit providing educators with resources to help inspire Generation Z students to pursue their passion in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Generation Z refers to those born after 1995.

“We’re answering a call from educators to help fill the gap between the classroom and the workplace,” says Julee Koncak, Foundation director, Burns & McDonnell. “We want to help provide more STEM resources to teachers, who have the potential to make a huge impact through their classrooms on Generation Z students — the next generation of STEM professionals.”

This year, nearly 300 Missouri and Kansas educators — who work in more than 200 public, private and charter schools, as well as at community colleges, universities and early learning centers — registered for the summit. STEM professionals shared resources and interactive demonstrations that can be used in the classroom; provided insight into the future of STEM; and offered unique tips to help inspire and engage members of Generation Z.

"I truly love coming to the Educators Summit and look forward to it every summer,” says Kaleigh Bearce, third-grade teacher at Longview Farm Elementary. “It is a chance to interact with other educators, get new ideas and leave with lessons I can put into action in my classroom.

“It is so valuable to hear directly from the engineers, architects and other STEM professionals on what is needed in the industry and how it’s evolving. As someone who tries to incorporate STEM as much as possible, this is a great complement to our curriculum."

Burns & McDonnell is committed to working with educators and students to increase interest in STEM education and careers in Kansas City and beyond. According to the latest survey from KCSourceLink, while nearly 7,700 STEM jobs are available annually in Kansas City, employers are only able to fill about 30 percent of them, because of the shortage of STEM professionals.

Federal statistics show that 93 out of 100 STEM occupations have wages above the national average. According to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary for an engineering graduate is $66,097.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies made up of more than 6,000 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100 percent employee-owned and is proud to be on Fortune’s 2018 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.