Monday, August 16, 2010

Afterschool Programs for Underserved Youth

Equity and access issues are big concerns for afterschool programs across the country. In a recent survey by Bayer, a "lack of quality science and math education programs in poorer school districts" was cited as the top reason for minority underrepresentation in STEM careers. This puts extra impetus on afterschool providers to make space in their programs for underrepresented youth.

Afterschool stakeholders from across the country will be coming together to share their ideas about equity and access issues at our upcoming Conference in September. In the meantime, check out these great programs from our Directory:

Flandreau Indian School Success Academy at South Dakota State University: this program helps students pursue careers, including in STEM, identified by tribal leaders as being of particular need in their communities.

Junior Paleontologists at Project Exploration: Our good friends (and conference co-hosts) at Project Exploration take minority students on real paleontological excavations in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Camp GOAL at the Intrepid Museum Foundation Inc.: a four-week summer science program for underrepresented middle-school girls in NYC.

Multiethnic Introduction to Engineering (MITE) at Purdue University: qualified students interested about engineering learn about how to pursue an engineering at the Purdue campus.

Latinos in Forestry at Oregon State University: a pre-college recruitment program for students interested in natural resource management.

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