A Collaborative Vision for Data Science Education: Insights from Six-State Northeastern Summit

Educators, policymakers and leaders from across the Northeast gather to discuss developments in K-12 data science education in the region

The inaugural Northeastern K-12 Data Science Summit convened educators, policymakers, and leaders in New Hampshire on October 23rd, igniting a regional collaboration to advance data science education across state lines. For many participants, this was a groundbreaking opportunity; while formal programs are still evolving, each state brought forward dynamic initiatives with the potential to create impactful change nationwide.

Opening the summit, Frank Edelblut, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education, captured the urgency and shared mission that united attendees:

“We are anxious to make sure our students are equipped with the mathematical reasoning and tools they need to be effective citizens in America today.” 

Dr. Brendan Kelly, Director of Introductory Mathematics at Harvard University, expanded on this vision, sharing his passion for bridging math and real-world relevance. “Effective pedagogy with relevant mathematics should empower students. It should feel like having a skill set that lets you tackle real-world problems you care about. That’s the aspiration we should all hold,” Kelly emphasized.

For Kelly, connecting math to real-world challenges is key. Sharing an example from his classroom, he noted, “We’ve partnered with executives at L.L. Bean who shared real operational data with our students, and they took on the role of problem-solvers. Knowing they’d pitch their strategies to real industry leaders took engagement to a new level.” This relevance, he explained, helps students “imagine themselves as problem solvers” in meaningful careers.

State to State Exchange: Many Paths for Data Science in the Northeast 

The summit provided an opportunity for each state to present its distinct journey in bringing data science and data literacy into K-12 classrooms, revealing a tapestry of unique approaches and shared challenges across the Northeast. 

Massachusetts: Embedding Data in Civic Engagement

In Massachusetts, data science education has taken on a civic dimension, driven by collaborative efforts from leaders like Deborah Boisvert of CSforMA and Shereen Tyrrell from Burlington High School. A legislatively mandated civics project, required as part of high school social studies coursework, has given data science advocates an opportunity to establish the Innovation Pathways to Data Careers (IPDC).

Launched in 2021, IPDC is designed to introduce data literacy and build a progression of data skills in high school students. The IPDC pathway includes the Civics+Data Module, a foundational component that allows students to use data to explore social issues within their communities. Other components include data modules in Algebra II/Math III, integrating data literacy into math coursework, and Visualization+Data and Python+Data courses, which provide students with visualization and programming skills essential for data analysis. Together, these elements form a comprehensive IPDC pathway, linking high school coursework to community college programs that prepare students for industry roles and to university programs that develop future data scientists.

IPDC is designed to introduce data literacy and build a progression of data skills in high school students.

This program has already impacted 55 teachers and over 1,000 students, testing a progression that guides students toward data science careers. Students have investigated issues like gentrification and housing inequality, analyzing data on housing prices and inheritance trends to understand impacts on their communities.

Tyrrell highlighted the program’s interdisciplinary appeal: “Once we brought data [into the classroom], the science teachers joined us. The business teachers joined us. The social studies teachers joined us. It was not just for math majors.”

This collaborative approach has transformed classrooms, fostering a community of engaged learners excited to use data as a tool for civic engagement. Five additional districts will field-test this pathway, further strengthening connections between high school and post-secondary programs and opening doors to data-centric careers across various sectors.

New Hampshire: Expanding Math Pathways with Data Science

Anne Wallace, Mathematics/STEM Content Specialist, and Kris Conmy, Program Director of Math Learning Communities, shared New Hampshire’s innovative approach to data science education. Their work centers on rethinking traditional math pathways to offer students fresh avenues for developing practical, data-focused skills.

“In New Hampshire, we asked ourselves a fundamental question: Do all students need the same mathematics pathways in high school?”

Recognizing the value of data literacy in today’s world, New Hampshire embarked on a mission to create flexible math pathways that cater to diverse student goals and interests. “We want to bring data analysis and data science into high school,” Wallace continued, “because we live in a data-driven culture, and students must be equipped to interpret and make sense of the data all around them.”

The Math Learning Communities (MLC) program is a state-funded, innovative partnership initiative designed to enhance the mathematical understanding and success of high school students in New Hampshire.

Wallace described how New Hampshire’s data literacy initiatives extend beyond individual classrooms, connecting schools through a statewide network of math learning communities. This shared framework provides resources and training that empower educators across the state. “We’re building math pathways that all emphasize data analysis,” she said.

“Students need to examine data, grasp its meaning, and understand where it comes from—skills that are essential in our data-rich world.”

New Hampshire’s approach serves as an ambitious model, showing how a state can expand data science education through collaborative professional development and purposeful curriculum design.

Vermont: A Flexible Path to Data Science in High School

In Vermont, data science is being positioned as a compelling alternative to traditional high school statistics courses, thanks to the efforts of educators like Jessica VanDriesen from Woodstock Union Middle and High School. VanDriesen shared how Vermont offers data science as a semester-based elective alongside trigonometry, providing students with a flexible approach to math.

“The curriculum we chose is a year-long course, but we’ve broken it up into two semesters—Data Science 1 and Data Science 2,” VanDriesen explained. She noted that this structure allows students who may be unfamiliar with data science to try it without committing to a full year. “We thought they would be more nervous about signing up for a year of something they didn’t know,” she said, “so we made it accessible.”

VanDriesen’s vision for Vermont is to make data science a standard offering in high schools. “Rather than requiring a full year of Algebra 2, we’re considering offering students a choice between trigonometry or electives like data science in the second semester of that Algebra 2 year,” she said. This flexibility, she believes, will encourage students to pursue math beyond the state’s three-year requirement.

“My goal is to make data science a standard offering in high schools across Vermont—not just an elective that a few schools happen to have.”

Maine: Data Science Rooted in Environmental Learning

Maine’s approach to data science education reflects its rich tradition of place-based learning and environmental science, as presented by Franziska Peterson and Sara Lindsay from the University of Maine and the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education. 

Through partnerships with organizations like the Maine Lakes Association, Maine’s K-12 students engage in hands-on data projects that connect directly to their communities. “Maine has a long history of engaging citizens in community science,” Peterson explained. “The Maine Lakes Association has been collecting water quality data since 1970, and we have similar projects in forestry, agriculture, and marine science.” These projects allow students to work with real data, analyzing issues that impact their communities while developing quantitative skills.

Maine is empowering educators through authentic, place-based learning with projects like this Coastal Tracers project.

The Maine Data Literacy Project, an initiative by the RISE Center in collaboration with the Kutic Institute, has trained around 15 middle and high school teachers in data science. Teachers in the project developed tools, such as a “graph choice chart,” to help students analyze and interpret data effectively. “It’s a wonderful tool that we use with our college students as well,” Lindsay noted. The project has grown into an online repository and a blog library, providing resources to help teachers integrate data literacy into classrooms across grade levels.

In closing their presentation, Peterson highlighted the sustained professional learning that Maine provides, building connections between science researchers and teachers over multiple years. “It’s not just one-and-done or even just a summer,” she said.

“We work with teachers over several years to help them bring data literacy into their classrooms.”

Maine’s model is rooted in research-practice partnerships that enable teachers and scientists to collaborate on curriculum design, ensuring that data science education is relevant, accessible, and impactful for students.

Connecticut: Flexible STEM Pathways to Support Data Literacy

Andrew Hill, a STEM Curriculum Specialist from Brookfield High School

In Connecticut, flexible graduation requirements create opportunities for data science integration, even as the state grapples with significant educational disparities. Andrew Hill, a STEM Curriculum Specialist from Brookfield High School, discussed Connecticut’s recent efforts to broaden its high school math curriculum by reducing rigid course requirements.

“Connecticut has one of the largest achievement gaps in the country,” Hill shared. “But recent changes in our graduation requirements give districts flexibility to customize STEM credits.” Students now need only three specific math credits to graduate, allowing schools to design broader math pathways that align with local needs.

“The flexibility allows us to design a curriculum that meets students where they are, preparing them for real-world careers in a way that feels relevant."

Connecticut’s efforts are shaped by a focus on equity, but challenges remain, including a shortage of qualified data science teachers and inconsistent math programming across districts. But Hill expressed optimism about the state’s career pathways initiative, which aims to retain more students in Connecticut by preparing them for in-state jobs. By connecting introductory data science opportunities to career-oriented skills, Connecticut hopes to address local workforce needs while equipping students with essential data literacy skills for a wide variety of post-secondary pathways.

Rhode Island: Creating Modern Math Pathways

Ben Hall, Math Specialist for the Rhode Island Department of Education

In Rhode Island, the focus is on aligning high school math courses with students’ post-secondary goals, ensuring that data science is viewed as a valuable and rigorous pathway. Ben Hall, a Math Specialist from the Rhode Island Department of Education, shared how the state is building consensus around data science as a recognized course for college-bound students. “We’re thinking about high school math course-taking and how it aligns with what students will be doing long-term,” Hall said.

By collaborating with universities to ensure that data science is respected as a college-prep pathway, Rhode Island aims to make data literacy a viable alternative to traditional math sequences like precalculus and calculus.

“Our goal is to make sure that seeing ‘data science’ on a transcript means rigor, not just an easier or more fun option,” Hall explained.

Rhode Island’s efforts to shift this mindset represent an essential step in fostering a culture that values data science alongside traditional mathematics.

Building a Shared Vision for the Future of Data Science

DS4E’s Zarek Drozda wrapped up the summit with reflections on the collective purpose that brought everyone together, emphasizing the importance of addressing key challenges and motivations to advance data science education, in the Northeast and beyond. As the summit concluded, participants discussed the primary barriers and motivators specific to each of their states and considered immediate actions they could implement by January 2025. “All of you showed up today because you’re either interested in this work or you’re already doing something,” Drozda noted. “There’s a lot happening under the surface that we now have to bring up, scale, and make accessible for students in all of your states. And so that’s why I’m really excited for today’s conversation.”

“Whether you like it or not, you’re all part of the data science team now. We’re all learning this together.”