National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools

What National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools does

The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSS) is a private, nonprofit membership consortium founded in 1988 and headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, that represents secondary schools committed to transforming science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education through schoolwide initiatives that include authentic research and project-based learning. NCSS serves a vertical of STEM-focused secondary schools, district offices, corporate partners, and international members, operating a 1-10 person organization under Executive Director Todd Mann, who has announced his December 2026 retirement.

The consortium's core offerings are membership programs across six tiers (Institutional, Affiliate, Corporate, International, District Office, and Individual Members), supported by an annual event portfolio (Professional Conference, Leadership Summit, Student Leadership & Research Conference, and Consortium Connects) and resource publications including the STEM Edge digital magazine and the NCSS Insight Survey. Technology infrastructure is modest and non-proprietary: a standard membership networking database hosted at ncss.ce21.com (a third-party education platform) and a WordPress-based website (stemschools.org). No APIs, SDKs, AI capabilities, or proprietary software products are disclosed. Strategic content partnerships with the National Energy Education Consortium (NEED), Illinois Institute of Technology, ABRCMS, and Radcademy extend the consortium's programming without representing technology acquisitions.

NCSS's revenue model is subscription-recurring membership dues across institutional, affiliate, corporate, international, district, and individual categories, supplemented by conference registration fees, corporate and year-round sponsorships, and donations. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled through inquiry. The organization markets to prospective members primarily through its website, STEM Edge content, social channels (Facebook, X @NCSSSMST, LinkedIn), and its event-driven GTM motion. Member-school outcomes — including recognition by Niche (2025) as Best STEM Schools in each state, 81% of member schools offering AP-level courses, and an average SAT Math score of 663.4 versus a U.S. average of 514 — anchor the value proposition to prospective members and district buyers.

Name

National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools

Legal name

National Consortium of STEM Schools

Website

https://ncsss.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSS) is a nonprofit membership consortium serving U.S. and international secondary STEM schools through tiered memberships, annual conferences, professional development, and peer networking, governed by a small Chevy Chase, MD-based staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chevy Chase

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: NCSS generates revenue through various membership categories including Institutional Members, Affiliate Members, Corporate Members, International Members, District Office Members, and Individual Members. The membership model provides access to networking databases, conferences, professional development, and resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NCSS is a nonprofit membership consortium that convenes leading secondary STEM schools across the United States through tiered institutional memberships, an annual conference, leadership summits, a student leadership and research conference, and member resources including the STEM Edge magazine, NCSS Insight survey, and an online member networking database. The organization sells memberships and event registrations directly to schools, educators, administrators, and corporate partners seeking professional development, peer networking, and recognition within the secondary STEM education community.

Product overview

The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSS) operates as a membership-based educational consortium, not a traditional technology product company. Its offerings center on membership programs for STEM schools across multiple tiers (institutional, affiliate, corporate, international, district, and individual), complemented by annual events (Professional Conference, Leadership Summit, Student Leadership & Research Conference), and resource publications including STEM Edge Magazine and the NCSS Insight Survey. The organization provides a Membership Networking Database for member collaboration. These services work together to support the consortium's mission of transforming STEM education through authentic research and project-based learning initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NCSS Institutional Membership Tiered annual and monthly membership sold to secondary STEM schools and educators, granting access to the NCSS member networking database, conferences, leadership summits, STEM Edge magazine, and NCSS Insight survey.
• NCSS Annual Conference 2026

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% of NCSS schools offer AP-level courses
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NEED (National Energy Education Consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCSS partners with NEED to provide ocean energy education resources aligned with standards and offering hands-on experiences for students in member schools.
• Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIllinois Tech partners with NCSS to offer STEM summer programs for students, providing innovative STEM-driven programs for summer engagement.
• ABRCMS (Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerABRCMS partners with NCSS to host the ePoster Spring Symposium for Emerging Scientists, a one-day virtual symposium for student scientists to present research.
• RadcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRadcademy provides medical imaging and radiation therapy education content through NCSS resources, helping students learn about medical imaging careers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): A membership organization for educators focused on technology and digital learning in K-12. Comparable to NCSS in offering educator memberships, annual conferences, and PD resources targeting STEM-adjacent (technology) teaching.
• Magnet Schools of America: A membership-based national consortium for specialized magnet schools. Comparable to NCSS in operating model (school membership consortium providing professional development, conferences, and networking), with similar focus on a thematic subset of K-12 schools.
• National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA): A membership organization serving Catholic K-12 schools in the U.S. Comparable to NCSS in operating a school-based membership consortium with annual conferences, networking, and professional development services for member institutions.
• Project Lead the Way (PLTW): A nonprofit providing STEM curriculum and professional development to K-12 schools through a network model. Comparable to NCSS in targeting STEM school adoption, providing PD resources, and operating a network of partner schools.
• National Science Teaching Association (NSTA): The largest U.S. professional organization for science educators. Comparable to NCSS in delivering professional development, conferences, publications, and membership benefits, with a similarly education-focused mission around STEM teaching.
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM): A professional association for mathematics educators. Comparable to NCSS in delivering membership, conferences, publications, and PD, with parallel focus on a core STEM discipline taught at the secondary level.
• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS): A membership association serving private K-12 schools across the U.S. Comparable to NCSS in offering tiered school memberships, conferences, and resources that support member institutions, although at a broader (non-STEM-specific) scope.

Broad incumbents

• College Board: The nonprofit organization administering AP courses and the SAT. Comparable to NCSS in being central to the AP-course and college-readiness outcomes cited by NCSS member schools, and overlapping with the consortium's student-outcome metrics.
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD): A larger, established professional association for educators and administrators across all subjects. Comparable to NCSS in delivering professional development, conferences, and resources to educators, but with broader scope beyond STEM.

Emerging players

• Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA): A membership organization for K-12 computer science educators. Comparable to NCSS as a STEM-discipline-specific educator association offering PD, advocacy, and community resources, though narrower in disciplinary focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NCSSSMST
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/National-Consortium-of-Secondary-STEM-Schools/1446861525567651?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ncsss

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools