Our Purpose
Our goal is to provide minority students with unparalleled access to STEAM education, digital literacy, wellness programs, entrepreneurship opportunities, and a safe place during non-school hours. We believe in the transformative power of education and the critical role it plays in empowering underrepresented communities
Our Goals:
- To provide STEAM Education, Private Tutoring, Mental Health & Entrepreneurship Services to minority students that are underserved and underrepresented.
- To dismantle barriers while opening up doors for minority students to pursue STEM & Integrated Art Careers.
- To reduce inequalities in STEM Education while also building the self-esteem for future leaders of society.
- To help youth escape cycles of poverty, violence , trauma, and negative thinking
“Investing in Youth through Education, Wellness, and Mentorship to Create Agents of Change!"
The Problem
Despite significant gains in the participation of underrepresented minorities; African American, Hispanic, and Native Americans — in STEM education, they continue to be underrepresented in the STEM pipeline and to lag behind Whites and Asians in STEM and general achievement (Wagner 12).
The activities in which children and youth engage while outside of school hours are critical to their development, highlighting the need for quality after-school programs that engage students – regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or minority classification(Wagner 4 Merrimack College).
To tackle this underrepresentation of minorities in STEAM, Our proposed STEAM program will encourage interest among students of color through hands- on activities that enable students to pursue advanced learning opportunities and expose them to potential careers in STEAM. No matter their race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and ability, all children can succeed in STEAM.
Research
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — through an interdisciplinary and applied approach (Wagner 7).
In the next several years, 70% of all jobs created, not just those in technical fields, will require some STEM competency (Thomasian, 2011). Despite this focus, minority students have remained underrepresented in these fields (Ball et al., 2017). One approach in resolving this issue is to provide out-of-school-time (OST) STEM programs, particularly in science and engineering (Williams 11).
According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 16 percent of high school students are interested in a STEM career and have proven a proficiency in mathematics. Currently, nearly 28 percent of high school freshmen declare an interest in a STEM-related field, the U.S. Department of Education (year) says, yet 57 percent of these students will lose interest by the time they graduate from high school (Wagner 7).
STEM education helps to bridge the ethnic and gender gaps sometimes found in math and science fields. Initiatives have been established to increase the roles of women and minorities in STEM-related fields. In order to compete in a global economy, STEM education and careers must be a national priority (Wagner 8).