Virginia's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-focused multi-institutional partnership networks, to inventory the disruptive impacts of COVID-19, and to identify how partnership stakeholders navigated these challenges to prepare students for the skilled technical workforce. This work presents a single-case study design, highlighting the evolving landscape of STEM workforce education partnership networks in Southwest Virginia throughout the pandemic. The team conducted interviews with 19 regional stakeholders focused on the participants' role throughout the pandemic, barriers to STEM workforce education presented by public health and economic factors, and innovative strategies to sustain and expand partnership networks through COVID-19. Two key themes emerged from this study: successful partners maintained network connections through adaptive interactions and actors within the network served as brokers to leverage their connections and expand partnerships in the face of adversity. By taking a contextual view of the role of partnership networks in creating equitable STEM workforce pathways during COVID-19, we develop rich insights into partnership formation, collaboration, resource allocation, and programming amidst challenges to their success.

equity, foundations, social/society, students and learning Connecting K-12 schools with workforce development partners, regional industry, and postsecondary institutions provides the opportunity to grow and strengthen the skilled technical workforce (STW). Such multi-institutional partnerships have been highlighted as best practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education by the National Science and Technology Council, the Committee on STEM Education, and state education departments (Subcommittee on Federal Coordination in STEM Education, 2018;Virginia STEM Education Commission Final Report, 2020). These partnerships are especially salient in developing the STW as they can inspire students to imagine and scaffold new futures, provide authentic learning opportunities, expand professional networks, and enable teachers to develop and update knowledge about evolving careers in the STW (Ross et al., 2020).

In rural schools, such multi-institutional partnerships provide STW programs vital access to social capital in the form of grants, curricular support, and work-based learning opportunities (Imperatore, 2016). This capital supports equitable STW pathways for rural learners by fostering connections between school and industry within a community. While creating and maintaining such partnerships in rural communities can be difficult under normal circumstances, the challenges were exponentiated as schools navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, this research is framed as a single-case study of regional multi-institutional partnership networks as navigated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to understand the current partnership landscape, and its opportunities and barriers with respect to building more equitable STW pathways for rural students, the following question guides this research: RQ 1: When facing macro challenges similar to COVID-19, how do partnership stakeholders navigate barriers to prepare students for the STW?

Through interviews with stakeholders, our findings reveal transferable strategies to leverage partnerships to strengthen pathways towards a more equitable and diverse STW.

The STW refers to the approximately 17 million U.S. Americans, 13% of the workforce, who have skills and expertise in science and engineering and who work in STEM fields without a bachelor's degree (National Science Board, 2019a, 2020). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM positions are projected to grow at nearly twice the rate of the overall workforce (Laughlin et al., 2022). Recent high school graduates are well poised to meet this unfulfilled demand (National Science Board, 2019a). Youth ages 16-24 make up just 6.8% of the STEM workforce compared to 12.7% of the overall workforce (Laughlin et al., 2022). These industries provide a stable career path for workers without bachelor's degrees-competitive salaries, tangible training and skill development, opportunities for advancement, and confirmed job security in industries with notably lower unemployment rates than the overall workforce (National Science Board, 2019a). According to the Subcommittee on Federal Coordination in STEM Education, it is essential to diversify and expand equitable access to STW opportunities in order to meet growing workforce demands (2018).

Youth with lower socioeconomic status show lower levels of career interest in STEM in school and are significantly underrepresented in STEM career fields postgraduation (Saw, 2020). Research has shown that "career aspiration" is a primary determinant in STEM career participation, further supporting calls for expanded access to STW career awareness and planning for underrepresented youth (Legewie & DiPrete, 2014). For rural youth in particular, partnerships with local industry have been shown to support STEM career identity formation and address other barriers to STEM career participation such as connection to regional workforce opportunities and expanded postsecondary pathways (Avery, 2013;Nixon et al., 2021).

Students from rural communities face a number of challenges impacting their educational access and attainment (Ardoin, 2017); such as social, cultural, and physical geography; infrastructure; inequitable distribution of funding and resources; and systemic barriers. Each of these impacts not only these students' future prospects but also the overall wellbeing and development of their communities. Rural communities are typically geographically isolated that can present multiple overlapping challenges (Minner & Hiles, 2005). Issues related to infrastructure, such as a lack of both public and private transportation, impact students' abilities to access educational opportunities more commonly found in less rural areas (Minner & Hiles, 2005). Hartman and Kahn (2019) noted limited access to informal learning spaces like museums in rural places where students can engage with educational pursuits outside of a school setting.

Compounding this issue is the fact that local, state, and federal fiscal and educational resources are frequently inequitably distributed based on the dynamics of location and demographics-an issue of both social and spatial justice. Spatial justice refers to the distribution of resources, and how inequities are perpetuated by geography (Soja, 2010). An example of this can be seen in how public schools are funded in the United States, which depends heavily on the tax base of the communities these schools serve (Koricich et al., 2018). Communities with lower socioeconomic status and sparse populations have smaller tax revenues than higher income or more densely populated areas, which, in turn, provides less funding for its public schools and other infrastructure. These dynamics affect the tangible resources, educational opportunities, and creative experiences to which rural students have access.

Issues of access to extracurricular engagement programs affect students' curricular enrichment and sets them at a disadvantage compared to their peers that do have access to such programs. For example, Azano and Callahan (2021) chronicled the scarcity of gifted education programs in rural communities and Boynton (2014) found that there are also fewer opportunities for rural students to gain knowledge and experience through formal programs intended to introduce them to the possibilities of a STEM career and the benefits of entering the STW.

Career and technical education (CTE) initiatives have been shown to help individuals to develop their "STEM spark" (National Science Board, 2019b). Similarly, Matusovich et al. (2017) found that rural Appalachian high school students' interests in engineering were sparked and supported by "organized experiences" such as curricular or co-curricular initiatives like classes and afterschool programs. When students do not have access to opportunities to participate in guided educational experiences, their interests in STEM fields may not be nurtured and, in turn, may not catalyze a career in the STW. To capitalize on the interest in STEM careers that participation in these curricular programs may spark in students, more needs to be done to support and develop these pathways.

Research concerning technical career pathways for Appalachian students has highlighted the importance of developing opportunities for them to explore and sustain their interests in STEM by linking it to activities they enjoy that are locally applicable (Gillen et al., 2018;Carrico et al., 2019;Matusovich et al., 2017). The consideration of local relevancy is extremely important to consider as an emphasis on family, community, and employment are particularly salient to Appalachian culture and dynamics (Carrico et al., 2019;Irvin et al., 2012;Petrin et al., 2014). Building connections between schools, local industry, and intermediary partners can support accessible STEM pathways by providing both novel opportunities and additional resources.

Partnerships between schools and regional industry (e.g., sustained outreach or engagement, formalized apprenticeship, mentorship, or internship programs) are a promising approach to broadening participation in technical careers (Ross et al., 2020). Greater coordination among government, industry, and educational institutions is especially crucial to strengthening STW pathways characterized by rapidly advancing technology, evolving regulations, and shifting workforce demands (National Science Board, 2019b). Involving industry professionals in the creation and operation of STEM programs in P-12 settings can increase student participation in STEM out of school time programming, further increasing exposure to STEM opportunities (Pawloski et al., 2011).

Often, these partnerships result from connections among individuals, specifically teachers reaching out within their network to bridge gaps between student interest and curriculum availability (Hands, 2006). While interpersonal relationships are essential to the success of programs targeting students' vocational success, theories on interorganizational collaboration also emphasize organization-level factors such as hierarchy, shared vision, and resource allocation (Gillen et al., 2021;Badgett, 2016). Researchers have identified that young rural Virginians face issues related to educational attainment such as higher dropout rates, lower graduation rates, and generally lower rates of high school degrees or the equivalent when compared to their peers across the commonwealth in suburban and urban communities (Alleman & Holly, 2012). In rural regions of Virginia, only 27% of the population holds an associate degree or higher, compared to the 51% of the rest of the commonwealth and 46% for the nation (National Center for Education Statistics & U.S. Department of Education, 2017; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), 2017).

Due to the spread of COVID-19, the Governor of Virginia issued Executive Order 53 on March 23, 2020-closing all in-person instruction of K-12 schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic school year (EO-53 Temporary Restrictions Due to Novel Coronavirus, 2020). With social distancing and use of face masks as strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, VDOE established a timeline of phased reopening of Virginia's Schools; however, only 42% of schools in Southwest Virginia offered at least partial in-person instruction in the Fall of 2020 (Virginia Department of Education, 2021). Furthermore, federal guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools recommended that schools "limit nonessential visitors, volunteers, and activities involving external groups or organizations" (CDC, 2021). Without available resources and environmental security, COVID-19 added more tension to the balance in collaboration between K-12 educators and industry partners.

Gillen et al. examine the tension in interorganizational collaboration between public-private partnerships, noting factors that can mitigate or amplify the perception of pull between collaboration demands and organizational demands. Gillen et al. also identified stressors to collaboration such as organizational culture, beliefs/skill deficits, environment, and available resources (Gillen et al., 2021). COVID-19 exacerbated this tension in STW partnerships. Teachers/industry were not able to support STEM programs outside of the already strained remote classroom or inperson fully masked classroom. Thus, through the impacts of limited in-person instruction, disruption to curriculum, and discouragement of visitors, partnerships suffered.

The purpose of this study was to explore Southwest Virginia's STEM-focused multi-institutional partnership networks, to inventory the disruptive impacts of COVID-19, and to identify how partnership stakeholders navigated these challenges to prepare students for the STW. Through a social capital theoretical framework, we explore how the actors and interactions within these partnership networks supported expansion of STW pathways for rural learners in the face of such challenges.

Social Capital Theory describes how social structures support mobility of an individual through access to information, knowledge, norms, and appropriable relationships (Coleman, 1990). Coleman (1988) contends that all social relations and social structures facilitate social capital and "actors establish relations purposefully and continue them when they continue to provide benefit" (p. S95). Collectively, these relations and structures constitute a collaborative network, enabling actors and institutions to actively access and share knowledge and resources (Coburn et al., 2012). Resources such as knowledge, skills, and connections accessed through these networks are vital to individuals, organizations, and communities success in achieving various objectives (Lin, 2001).

Internal and external community connections in schools can increase social capital for students through expanded networks, resulting in improved outcomes (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987;Sanders, 2006). For example, Harper and Griffin (2011) posit that expanding school networks through community partners provides tangible access to resources, improving outcomes from college and career readiness to college choice to persistence from freshman through senior year. Key actors within a school can take on essential roles as brokers to expand these networks and increase social capital available to students (Fletcher et al., 2021). Ling and Dale (2013) refer to connecting individuals and institutions across networks as "linking social capital," resulting in the proliferation of access and resources for individuals in the network. In addition to the size of networks, the nature of interactions between actors proves pivotal in expanding social capital (Penuel et al., 2009). The longevity, frequency, and quality of these interactions determine the strength of network connections (Bridwell-Mitchell, 2017). This network perspective of Social Capital Theory frames our research methods and analysis of actors and interactions in school-based multi-institutional partnerships and their role in expanding STW pathways for rural learners.

This work presents a single-case study design highlighting the evolving landscape of STW education partnerships in Southwest Virginia throughout the pandemic. Using this design, our team collected data from multiple sources within the bounds of a single case to provide a rich description of a unique phenomenon and the context in which it occurs (Yin, 2003). The design of this study was approved by the Institutional Review Board as Exempt Research under the Human Research Protection program. Our team conducted semi-structured interviews with school staff members and intermediary partners. Contact information for relevant district personnel was acquired via public directories. We emailed requests to 90 STW stakeholders from 21 counties, requesting a brief interview on the topics of local multi-institutional partnerships during the pandemic. Nineteen individuals participated in the interview process. Interview participants represented 13 localities with 9 CTE administrators, 6 community college career coaches, and 1 STEM coordinator. Three participants worked as school counselors, also serving as their schools internship coordinator via a grant from a local nonprofit. While their vantage points and roles differed slightly, each participant shared goals for their involvement in students' career education and planning. These similarities made them ideal for typical case sampling (Patton, 2002). Overall, 19 individuals were interviewed in order to reach data saturation (Lincoln & Guba, 1985;Weiss, 1994).

We are situated by our collective identities as community members, researchers, and practitioners in Southwest Virginia. All researchers have rich experience in community-university engagement as we bring to the table lived experiences as residents, CTE and workforce development classroom teachers, STEM program leaders, and boundary spanners. The team leveraged both personal and professional networks to connect with participants, enrich conversations, and advance our own research goals as well as community-driven initiatives. Our identities as community members influenced an asset-based approach to data analysis and results formulation.

Each 30 min interview (Appendix A) was conducted via Zoom and began with gathering context about the participant's roles and general responsibilities generally at their place of employment. Participants were then asked about their community and their involvement in multiinstitutional partnerships that supported STEM workforce pathways for their rural students. The interviews also sought to gather information about how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced their actions and operations related to these partnerships. The interviews concluded by engaging the participants in conversations about the innovative strategies they developed and utilized to sustain these multi-institutional partnerships through COVID-19 as well as requests for information on what actions and resources would allow such partnerships to flourish moving forward.

After completing the interviews, the recordings were transcribed via Zoom automatic transcription. The research team then cleaned the data to improve the machine transcription and then assigned data keys to each. The anonymized transcripts were then uploaded into the cloud-based qualitative data analysis software, Dedoose. Once in Dedoose, we utilized thematic analysis techniques (Daly et al., 1997) to identify recurrences and patterns emerging from the data.

This analysis was completed in batches of four to five interviews at a time through an iterative combination of inductive and deductive coding. Inductive analysis of the data was used to elicit themes from data gathered in interviews (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). As such, in vivo codes (Charmaz, 2006) were developed from words or statements the participants used. Deductive codes, on the other hand, were derived a priori from Virginia's 17 different Career Clusters and work-based learning legislation. The concept of career clusters aligns Virginia's CTE programs with technical pathways, such as Energy and Manufacturing, allowing students to develop plans of study to bridge secondary education with regional workforce opportunities (Virginia Department of Education, n.d.). Codifying data to existing workforce education language situated interview data within regional STW themes.

Once the team had coded the batches independently, we met to discuss the inductive codes we surmised and then worked together to rename, collapse, and re-parent the codes for greater specificity and alignment with Social Capital Theory constructs using constant comparative coding (Glaser, 1965). From there, we discussed themes and patterns that emerged within our own processes as well as between them, a process referred to as "connecting codes" (Crabtree & Miller, 1999). For example the researchers independently coded "advisory board" and "advisory committee" and decided to merge these inductive codes as they represented similar notions. The new "advisory board" primary code was reparented under a broader secondary code of "partnerships" which, when combined with other secondary coded categories such as "education infrastructure" and "small community" formed emergent themes around the network structure. These codes serve as the basis for analyzing network structure and interactions conceptualized in Social Capital Theory. Additional inductive codes contextualized our case within STW education and within the case bounds such as "work-based learning," "apprenticeship," "COVID uncertainty," "virtual learning," "far Southwest Virginia," and "small community." Upon completion of these steps for the initial batch of transcripts, the process was repeated on subsequent batches until all of the transcripts had been coded.

With coding complete, the team conducted post hoc analysis of the resultant themes to situate them within the broader context of the Social Capital theoretical framework. Themes such as "the role of the individual [in a partnership]" was situated in the framework to represent brokers ability to link social capital within a network. This process of code merging, collapsing for themes, and theoretical analysis around network structure and interactions is shown in Appendix B, Table B1.

The overall analysis process was iterative and reflexive as it involved an ongoing "careful reading and re-reading of the data" (Rice & Ezzy, 1999, p. 258) in order to refine the codes and themes that emerged independently and collectively. The attention to the iterative nature of our independent and collaborative data analysis adds to the quality and trustworthiness of our study. Each step of the analysis process was conducted both independently and then collaboratively. We reviewed the transcripts separately and developed initial codes and themes independently of one another in order to achieve validity through investigator triangulation.

Another step that increases the quality of our data is the use of participants' own reflections on the research topics. Using direct quotes from participants as presented in the findings below ensures thematic alignment as "…[o]verarching themes are supported by excerpts from the raw data to ensure that data interpretation remains directly linked to the words of the participants" (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006 p. 82). The data from this research will equip these regional stakeholders to institutionalize the systems and processes developed and utilized during the pandemic to further advance the regional development of a STW.

While the results from our interviews alluded to the deeprooted nature of Southwest Virginia's pre-pandemic multiinstitutional STEM partnership networks, COVID-19 disrupted schools beyond the ability to support collaborative workforce education. Responses showed an overwhelming emphasis on the importance of maintaining and strengthening partnerships through and beyond the pandemic. Specifically, the participants' responses allowed us to elicit two key themes that have implications for building and maintaining robust partnership networks when facing macro challenges. First, when direct programming shut down in March of 2020, successful partnerships maintained network connections through innovative, resilient interactions that shifted emphasis to partnership infrastructure and logistics. And second, as schools navigated reopening and mitigation phases of the pandemic, individual actors acted as brokers within the network to reestablish partnerships in an evolving landscape.

While the qualities valued in leaders vary by culture and context, it was clear that those we interviewed appreciated the work their leaders put into supporting efforts to maintain educational and work-based learning opportunities that their rural students relied on to maintain progress towards educational and career goals. When initial school shutdowns due to COVID-19 resulted in programmatic setbacks, leaders shifted focus towards partnership infrastructure to regain momentum through the end of 2020. During this time, partnership efforts focused on organizational communication, external funding, and utilizing industry and intermediary networks which both support current efforts and also lay the groundwork for future STW programming. One CTE administrator (Participant 14) explains how these novel interactions support workforce education: Good conversation, good collaboration and relationships among all of the stakeholders. We bring in people from the economic board so that they see what we have, and so they can market that when they are talking with new businesses, … but they also see what we need as well. So they were able to get this grant… then they also had the conversations with the business and industry partners to see exactly what they needed and then go for the grant … to make it a reality. So we just all work very well together. Communication is huge. … that's one of the big assets that we have. This discussion of alternative approaches to collaboration (e.g., joint funding proposals) epitomizes resilient partnerships' ability to adapt network interactions when traditional programming is disrupted. Due to socialdistancing requirements and other measures put in place during COVID-19, students needed special opportunities to get hands-on experience with the equipment and training they needed to learn technical skills for their future careers. To address these challenges, these partnerships pursued fiscal support such as grants, scholarships, and funding for resources and supplies to support careerfocused teaching and learning endeavors. Such funding was a salient theme that emerged from innovative network interactions, as mentioned by a CTE administrator (Participant 7): So last year was very difficult to get our hours [at clinical partner sites] in [for nursing programs]… So we actually put in for that $37,500 grant that the state puts out… for a totally interactive mannequin… where they can get a whole lot more from that. You can program it for the blood pressure to drop. You can listen to its breathing…it'll do all kinds of things. We actually saw a need for a backup plan, if clinical hours ever [are at risk], which thankfully this year has been a little bit better, but last year was a struggle with [COVID].

Participants also noted the need for ancillary resources to expand students' access to pathways to STW education. External funding was used to address the various infrastructure challenges that rural communities face beyond COVID-19. A school-based workforce development coordinator (Participant 1) explained:

…because we are very rural, our mountains increase travel time. The lack of travel for our students being able to make those visits. Sure we work out unique ways whereby if they're driving in a Driver's Ed car that they could be dropped off [or] picked up [at their internships or other work-based learning sites] … [We're] working with our workforce development board, we are hoping maybe they have a grant for some use for buying vehicles.

The theme of adaptive network interactions also emerged from discussion around partnering to provide support in the form of human resources such as intellectual, professional, and experiential engagement. By providing virtual and in-person tours of their facilities and workplaces, and by having their employees connect with students through career fairs, job talks, and academic lessons (virtually and in-person) industry leaders not only provided students with connections to real world experiences, but they also expanded the rural students' social and professional networks. A CTE administrator (Participant 14) mentioned such opportunities available to students in their rural communities as a result of diverse network interactions:

We just this fall started a new endeavor, which is a career fair where we bring the business and industry partners in. … And that worked twofold. One, it helped our students to practice their soft skills. It helped our students to become more aware of the businesses that are here that aren't as readily don't readily pop to mind. But it also allowed this business and industry partners to come into our campus and see exactly what we have to offer to see what equipment that we're using, what our students are doing. So then they can give us feedback as well to say, you know, this is what we're doing…. Maybe, hopefully get them to volunteer either some donations of time or materials, but it just helps…. It just makes this pipeline stronger.

The importance of innovative interactions to support resilient partnership networks was repeatedly referenced in our interview conversations. As demonstrated, representatives from many stakeholder groups were involved in the work and success of providing opportunities for these rural students' pathways into the STEM workforce throughout COVID-19. Schools worked tirelessly with partners from regional industries as well as intermediary partners like nonprofit organizations, regional community colleges, and workforce development partners that serve in vital capacity building functions. A local STEM coordinator (Participant 6) explained how organizations collaborated to fortify network structure through formalizing relationships:

When we started our STEM program, [Industry Partner] had actually written a contract through the Department of Transportation to develop lesson plans that centered on transportation technology. And within that grant, there was money to start … [a new schoolbased position]. Somebody that could be the go between between [Industry Partner] and the school system to get this contract up and rolling.

Partnerships succeeded when they demonstrated strong communication, developed strategies for leveraging funding, and created and strengthened crossjurisdictional collaboration, in order to provide infrastructure for teachers and students to maintain forward progress throughout COVID-19. Navigating the complexities of a global pandemic and its impact on careerreadiness teaching and learning efforts was no easy feat. These individuals and groups leveraged their positions in the community and in the work environment to catalyze engagement and action. Stakeholders in these efforts who represented the boots-on-the-ground efforts were also integral to the success of these efforts as well.

Individual relationships form a critical foundation for building multi-institutional partnerships (Thomas et al., 2010). In such partnerships, individual actors can provide vital connections across organizations to navigate evolving barriers and capitalize on fleeting opportunities. Our study identified how these individuals acted as brokers and leveraged social network connections to maintain partnership momentum. Throughout the pandemic, teachers and school-based administrators continued to provide individualized opportunities for students to explore STW pathways by expanding network connections. For example, as schools navigated inconsistent reopening processes, faculty and staff connected with industry and postsecondary partners to create virtual experiences for students to explore STW pathways.

Nearly all participants recognized this virtual programming as an inadequate substitute; yet, many saw the benefit to including these experiences when no other option was available. Similarly, as COVID mitigation strategies fluctuated, there were temporary solutions implemented to reconvene partners in compliance with reopening protocols. These solutions highlight the adaptability of individuals to meet shifting partnership constraints and offer insights into the benefits of direct, peer to peer collaboration for STW education. The theme of brokers using informal means of connection to expand and strengthen networks emerged throughout our interviews. A local community college career counselor (Participant 16) explained how their position served to bridge K-12 and postsecondary education actors to support continued STW development programming through the pandemic:

But a [local university science department] professor and I were talking about…[how] they wouldn't have been able to show their work sites or their research sites and what they were doing. But because we were doing it via Zoom, some of them were actually able to do virtual tours, which was kind of cool.

Stalwart teachers, counselors, and direct-service partners continuously showed creativity in maintaining workforce education momentum, even while top-down support and accountability for programming waned. When brokers collaborated beyond formal partnership networks, the efforts provided meaningful, often individualized, opportunities for students. Discussions of these novel connections emerged throughout interviews, including this example from a nonprofit workforce development coordinator (Participant 17).

[With] job shadowing, I wasn't able to do anything officially because of COVID restrictions, but that was just one of those things where if I knew a student needed this opportunity and I knew somebody that could help them, I would just call and say, 'Hey, I've got a student who's interested. Can I send them to you for a few days and let them kind of see what's going on …?'… It wasn't anything official.

The richness of individual interactions expanded beyond traditional partnership constraints as individuals capitalized on their social network to continue offering STW education programming during the pandemic. Opportunities became available for students as teachers reached out within their social circles to revitalize partnerships. These community networks, often obfuscating the line between personal and professional relationships, expanded access to viable partners. A CTE administrator explained how these informal relationships support STW programming in Southwest Virginia (Participant 5).

The really nice thing for us is that because we're small, we're able to have relationships with these [industry partners] because you know them…you go to church with [them]… you have their students in class…And they also know [they're] able to hire our students who have been training in a specific area, for example, in welding.

By looking at the role of the individual as a broker, it is clear that identifying ways to build agile partnerships and institutionalize network connections is essential to building a robust STEM STW.

Amidst macro challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, successful STW partnership networks in Southwest Virginia maintained and expanded connections through engaging in innovative interactions and leveraging the role of network brokers. When partnership programming was disrupted, actors in successful partnerships prioritized maintaining interactions through renewed emphasis on partnership infrastructure and logistics. Schools partnered with industries to provide funding opportunities to support technical instruction and workforce development opportunities. As individual actors navigated pandemic barriers, they pivoted to their own networks to maintain partnership momentum. Intermediary partners created bridging connections that allowed for novel opportunities between schools, industries, and postsecondary partners to support STW pathways. Our work aligns with research on school-industry partnerships, affirming that these networks provided linking social capital to students in STW pathways through industry and community investment in the creation, funding, and implementation of STW opportunities (Fletcher et al., 2021;Orr, 1999).

Reliance on network connections from within the community is especially integral in rural settings. This is often characterized by the duality of both close personal connections between students, families, and the community, and geographic isolation (Knutson & Del Carlo, 2018;Minner & Hiles, 2005). These tight-knit networks can allow students to access resources and various forms of capital (Knutson & Del Carlo, 2018) while allowing for trust to be built and maintained among community members who share common experiences (Minner & Hiles, 2005;Hamm, 2014). Having these insider experiences and connections makes it easier for partners to leverage the networks in these communities (Hamm, 2014). In instances where partners came from out of the community networks, they expressed they were able to build the trusting relationships required for collaboration (Minner & Hiles, 2005). Fostering and leveraging these community-based networks to support STW education is essential in Appalachia where teachers and administrators identify with their colleagues as community members, and the students attending the schools and their families also have deep community connections.

Intermediary partners, such as nonprofits and postsecondary institutions filled vital support roles such as career coaches, internship coordinators, community liaisons, and college success coordinators (Curry & Milsom, 2014). School and district leadership emphasizing community collaboration in rural schools provides access to resources such as grants, awards, prizes, and scholarships, leading to increased community engagement and student achievement (Preston & Barnes, 2018). Developing connections within Appalachian STW partnership networks provides pivotal access to social capital across the entirety of the network. With broad participation from schools, nonprofits, local governments, and regional industry, our study affirms STW multi-institutional partnerships support students pursuing technical careers but are also integral to broader economic development within a community (Knorringa & van Staveren, 2006).

Several limitations of our research revolve around two central components of this study: the narrow region within which this study was conducted and the COVID-19 pandemic. While we did interview individuals in a variety of roles and locations, our sampling reflected Southwest Virginia's workforce education partnership landscape, skewing heavily towards administrators from Career & Technical Education. School and intermediary staff were consistently over-capacity and under-resourced as they navigated pandemic challenges, thus participating in an interview, even one only 30 min long, was likely not realistic for everyone contacted.

The necessity to turn industry employment challenges into opportunities persists, particularly for our rural communities. The NSB's 2022 report The State of U.S. Science & Engineering stated that urban and metropolitan areas have greater concentrations of patenting and trademark innovation which yields greater opportunities for STEM workers in science and engineering (S&E) roles. This "[c]oncentration supports local growth at the same time that other regions, lacking these attributes, grow more slowly" (National Science Board, 2022, p. 57). This presents an opening for industry to consider their role in the unbalanced geographic distribution of opportunities and turning this to their own, and their workers', benefit. Through active engagement in STW education partnerships, these industries can build robust talent pipelines through including regional students and recent graduates in their workforce while simultaneously playing a role in the economic health and community development of our most under-resourced regions.

Thankfully, there has been renewed emphasis on the national stage to invest in partnerships supporting STW partnership networks. In September 2019, the NSB developed a report echoing the importance of regional multiinstitutional partnerships in addressing America's STW needs. This report advocates the following actions:

(1) Designing STW education and preparation to meet the needs of individuals; (2) Building partnerships among education, industry, nonprofit, and government sectors to leverage resources and knowledge, and meet the needs and circumstances of local communities; (3) Conveying accurate information about employment and career opportunities in the STW; (4) Addressing data gaps and data silos so that government, industry, and educational institutions can maximize the effectiveness of programs and initiatives. (National Science Board, 2019b, p. 21) The reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act supports these actions by providing funding and accountability to support "partnerships among secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, baccalaureate degree granting institutions, area career and technical education schools, local workforce investment boards, business and industry, and intermediaries" (Perkins, 2018, p. 21). With this renewed accountability, standards, legislation, and infrastructure provide explicit support, guidance, and funding to support the development and expansion of multiinstitutional STW partnership networks. Actors in these networks can leverage this momentum by:

• Identifying novel opportunities to organize stakeholders.

Convening parties towards a common goal, such as a funding opportunity, provides an excellent foundation for developing a working relationship between organizations who may not have identified a shared vision. • Supporting networking among K-12 faculty and staff.

Often, these informal networks provide untapped potential for connecting schools and industries to regional STEM STW opportunities. • Encouraging collaboration across STEM disciplines. By connecting across departments, we can enrich understanding of viable STEM STW careers and connect students to industry partners that can offer diverse experiences for career exploration and preparation.

In summary, we recommend all actors within STW multi-institutional partnership networks (e.g., school leaders, teachers, intermediary partners, and industry professionals) to consciously consider their position within the network and identify the types of interactions that may strengthen or expand connections to better link social capital across the network. Such actions support development and acquisition of social capital for students in particular, and the community in general. This study contributes to the literature on social capital within school-based partnerships, particularly how they navigate challenges to their success.