Moody Grant Recipient: Dallas Education Foundation

The Dallas Education Foundation (DEF) is the nonprofit, philanthropic partner of Dallas ISD, connecting the generosity of the community with opportunities that support the district’s 130,000 students, 10,000 educators, and 240 schools. The Dallas ISD Career Exploration Mobile Lab recently opened as a large-scale, state-of-the-art career and technical education classroom on wheels that brings hands-on career exploration directly to middle school campuses.

Please share the mission and purpose of the Dallas Education Foundation.

The Dallas Education Foundation’s mission is to ensure every student reaches their full potential by strategically investing in Dallas ISD initiatives that advance student achievement and support the district’s student outcome goals. In close partnership with Dallas ISD, DEF directs philanthropic resources toward the four key priority areas: Early Learning, Literacy, College and Career Readiness, and Educator Support. These investments strengthen, expand, and accelerate high-impact initiatives across the district.

Since 2019, the Dallas Education Foundation has invested more than $14 million in Dallas public schools, helping advance district priorities and create meaningful opportunities for students and educators across Dallas ISD.

 

For those who haven’t seen it firsthand, what is the Mobile Career Lab, and what do students experience when it comes to their campus?

The Dallas ISD Career Exploration Mobile Lab is a large-scale, state-of-the-art career and technical education classroom on wheels that brings hands-on career exploration directly to middle school campuses. Developed through a partnership between Dallas ISD Career and Technical Education and the Dallas Education Foundation, the Mobile Career Lab gives students (primarily seventh graders) access to technology and career experiences they might not otherwise encounter until high school. With two Mobile Career Labs now available, we reach thousands of middle-school students while reducing transportation and field-trip barriers.

When a Mobile Career Lab visits a campus, students rotate through interactive stations that allow them to see, touch, and experience the skills behind high-demand careers. They will fly drones, use simulators, and practice technical skills, as well as design, build, and solve problems. The experiences support the district’s career-exploration curriculum and help students make informed decisions when selecting their high school endorsements, P-TECH academies, Career Institutes, and other pathways.

More than introducing students to different job titles, the Mobile Career Lab gives them an opportunity to discover their interests and imagine themselves in careers they may never have considered before and all aligned to Dallas ISD’s career and technical education programs. We want students to leave the experience with a stronger understanding of what is possible and where their interests could take them.

Why is it important to introduce middle school students to different career paths and hands-on learning opportunities at this age?

 Middle school is a critical time. Studies show that students in these grades often disconnect from the classroom, for a variety of reasons. It is essential to, therefore, provide our middle school students with engaging curriculum and exploratory experiences so that they can relate what they’re learning with what interests them.

Additionally, middle school is when our Dallas ISD students are beginning to make important decisions about their high school experience and future pathways. Through the Dallas ISD’s Pathways to College and Careers course, middle school students explore their postsecondary options and begin considering how their interests, strengths, and goals can inform the choices they make for high school and beyond.

The Mobile Career Lab complements this work by providing students with hands-on exposure to a variety of careers, including fields they may not have previously encountered or considered. This type of early exposure is especially important as students prepare to select from the many high school pathways available across Dallas ISD, including Career Institutes, P-TECH, International Baccalaureate, and Early College programs. Providing students with meaningful career exploration experiences helps ensure they make informed decisions about the opportunities that best align with their interests and goals.

The Mobile Career Lab creates an important connection to the career-focused learning students can pursue in high school through Dallas ISD’s Career Institutes. These programs provide students with opportunities to develop technical skills and earn industry-based certifications that prepare them for high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand careers after graduation. By beginning that exploration in middle school, students are able to better understand the connection between the choices they make today and the education, career opportunities, and economic mobility available to them in the future.

 

What are some of the careers or industries students get to explore through the Mobile Career Lab?

 The Mobile Career Lab introduces students to skills and careers connected to five priority career clusters: Health Science; Information Technology; Transportation, Distribution and Logistics; Architecture and Construction; and Manufacturing.

Students participate in activities such as flight and drone simulations, virtual welding, 3D design and prototyping, virtual dentistry, vital-sign simulations, coding, and robotics. Through these experiences, they encounter careers ranging from aviation, transportation, construction, and health care to information technology, robotics, engineering, and advanced manufacturing.

The goal is not to ask seventh graders to choose a career immediately. It is to expand what they know is possible, help them recognize their interests and talents, and show them how those interests connect to programs available throughout Dallas ISD. By introducing students to high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand industries early, we can help them make more intentional educational choices and begin preparing for opportunities in the North Texas workforce.

How has support from the Moody Foundation helped make the Mobile Career Lab possible and expand its reach across Dallas ISD?

Support from the Moody Foundation has been instrumental in expanding career exploration opportunities for middle school students across Dallas ISD. Through its generous gift, the Moody Foundation funded the district’s second Mobile Career Lab, significantly increasing the program’s capacity and making it possible to provide hands-on career exploration experiences to approximately 9,000 seventh-grade students across the district.

The Moody Foundation’s support also extends beyond the Mobile Career Lab itself. Grant funding provides essential supplies and consumable materials needed to maintain the lab’s interactive, hands-on experiences and ensure the program remains engaging, relevant, and innovative for students in the years ahead.

This investment is helping Dallas ISD expand access to meaningful career exploration at a critical point in students’ educational journeys, ensuring more students have the opportunity to discover career possibilities and make informed decisions about their future pathways.

 

What impact do you hope the Mobile Career Lab will have on students as they begin thinking about high school, college, and their future careers?

 The hope is that the Mobile Career Lab expands students’ understanding of what is possible for their futures. For many middle school students, it may be their first opportunity to experience certain careers firsthand or learn about industries they did not know existed. By providing that exposure early, students can begin identifying their interests and strengths and better understand how those interests can translate into future educational and career opportunities.

As students prepare to make important decisions about high school and their postsecondary plans, the Mobile Career Lab gives them additional knowledge and experiences to make those choices more intentionally. The goal is not for students to leave the experience knowing exactly what career they want to pursue, but for them to leave with greater awareness of the many pathways available to them and a clearer understanding of how the choices they make now can help them reach their future goals.

Ultimately, the Mobile Career Lab is about helping students see possibilities for themselves. When students are exposed to a broader range of careers and understand the education, skills, and training required to pursue them, they can begin to envision a future that is both attainable and aligned with their interests. That early exposure can help students make informed decisions that lead to meaningful careers and, ultimately, greater economic opportunity.

 

Upcoming events or key milestones we should mention?

We are looking forward to several significant Career Connected Learning milestones during the coming year, including:

• The opening of Career Institute West, expanding student access to high-quality, hands-on career pathways.
• The districtwide deployment of two Career Exploration Mobile Labs, with the goal of offering all 60+ Dallas ISD middle schools an opportunity to host an immersive, campus-based career exploration experience.
• The Middle School Career Exploration Showcase at Fair Park, a two-day districtwide experience connecting approximately 3,000 seventh-grade students with employers, educators, and interactive activities representing a wide range of career fields.

Together, these milestones strengthen the continuum between early career awareness, middle school exploration, and the high school programs that prepare students for college, careers, and the modern workforce.