This program seems like a great way to engage students in pursuing STEM careers. I really like how you are drawing on networked improvement communities, and including primary schools and community organizations. Are elements of the program also helping encourage students to pursue graduate studies in STEM disciplines?

Thank you Marcelo. Yes, absolutely.  As a background, the HBCUs leading this work were traditionally focused on teaching and learning with a growing research agenda. Now, the implementation of this new vision involves shifting roles to expanded research and graduate education efforts while maintaining core values of quality pathways from K-12, undergraduate, and graduate education and access. We contend that this process of institutional change requires STEM programs to help students to successfully navigate the critical junctures related to: professional development; student support services; excellence in teaching, learning and research; and the development of interdisciplinary collaborations.

It looks like the project focuses on 5th-8th grade. Are you also working with high schools and elementary schools to ensure that students aren't lost before they hit middle school, or once they leave middle school?

Very cool. I'm interested in the "glue" you're creating to hold the network together--I've found these sorts of partnerships are difficult to sustain, and from the video, you've got lots of interest and enthusiasm. What sort of goals or metrics do each of the partners have? How do you focus on these so that there's steady improvement over time in all of the efforts?

I think it's great that you've prioritized the Piedmont counties (I'm biased by virtue of where I went to college)! What are some of the challenges and affordances you've encountered working in the Piedmont region that similar localities could learn from as they try to establish similar networks? Are the counties you are working with similar (e.g., demographically, economically, geographically) or does each present different needs?

Gregory,

I too am wondering about the "glue" aspect (mentioned by Michael above). I ran an afterschool engineering program at CU Boulder for about 10 years, and it was a hefty undertaking, to say the least. Do you evaluate your program to ascertain if you're having am impact with your kiddos? I'm interested, as I found it so difficult to get middle school kids involved (such a crucial age), yet had a wait list for students in grades 3-5. Do you struggle to find mentors for your program (from a time perspective, not passion)?

Also, lastly, I wanted to point you to www.teachengineering.org, an NSF-funded online digital library that houses hundreds of STEM activities (with shoestring budgets) for teaching kiddos. It's a free resource for use by anyone wanted to infuse hands-on STEM activities into K-12 learning. I was involved in the project for many years and think the curriculum is very good for STEM classroom integration. Just an FYI.

Hi Janet, thank you for your excellent comments.  See the earlier post, but briefly.....This project's foundation is the glue. The glue is the "ION"= [In and Out of Neighborhoods] part of the acronym DISCUSSION.   The community and neighborhoods have strong existing ties to civic organizations, YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, churches....where families and participants have foundational trust and love.  This work was built on this principal from the communicated words and needs for families who seek avenues for their children to be included on the competitive trajectory for STEM careers. The key is to seek out the needs of the parents and community advocates.  HBCUs are awesome institutions for promoting campus-wide research and mentoring..we have a spectrum of mentors community volunteers at the neighbor YMCA students and parents who love the real world applications we promote for STEM.  Thank you for the link to teach engineering.  I look forward to checking it out!