BEAM Summer STEM Programs

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

BEAM addresses a largely unrecognized problem: while affluent students often have ample opportunities to explore deep topics in mathematics and problem solving, students from historically marginalized communities often have no such access. Students in historically marginalized communities have limited access to STEM programs either in or out of school. Indeed, more affluent families spend 7X as much on enrichment for their children as their less affluent peers. In college, Black and Latine students declare STEM majors at the same rate as their white and Asian peers, but too often find themselves underprepared for the rigors of a STEM major. As a result, many more Black and Latine students switch from STEM majors or leave college altogether. It’s no surprise, then, that even students with high interest and potential in STEM are shut out of opportunities for rewarding and influential STEM careers, with negative consequences for themselves, their families and communities, and society.

BEAM supports students from middle school through college to ensure success in STEM. Our pathway begins with our summer programs, which build student interest and skills at a critical point in their STEM journeys. BEAM Discovery is a 5-week summer program for rising 7th graders. At Discovery, students connect to math through puzzles and games that center on problem solving and logical reasoning. As they learn together through nearly 90 hours of math instruction, students create a close-knit community of kids who love math and build the confidence and self-identity for success. Many students tell us it is the first time they’ve been challenged in math.
BEAM Summer Away is a rigorous 3-week residential summer program for rising 8th graders held on a college campus. Students dive deep into proof-based mathematics through 80 hours of math instruction, including classes, visitor lectures, and supervised independent study. The program focuses on building a joyful community where students fall in love with math. This transformative experience is a key step in their growth as mathematicians.
Students also enjoy field trips and activities like origami, chess, and sports. They eat at the campus cafeteria and even learn to do their own laundry. Summer Away creates impactful, deep-thinking experiences for students and changes the ways they think about their future.
BEAM summer programs will serve 200 students in Los Angeles. The programs are free to students and their families.

Accessing STEM resources can be challenging for high-achieving students in LA—particularly for students from under-resourced communities. This grant will help us bring together students with high interest and potential in math from underserved backgrounds—students who may otherwise never attend camp or explore advanced math. BEAM is a one-of-a-kind program in LA: not only do we offer summer STEM programming, but we also support students for 10 years to ensure that no hurdle will prevent our students from achieving their STEM dreams. Our vision is that BEAM will help ensure our students can thrive in STEM. Our goal is for our students to graduate with STEM majors and enter STEM careers. Such careers offer financial stability and prestige that can transform individuals and entire communities. We plan to serve 150 students at Discovery LA in 2025 (expanding from 125 students in 2024) and 50 students at Summer Away LA in 2025 (expanding from 40 students in 2024).

We have strong evidence of our impact. In a study comparing long-term outcomes between BEAM students and a comparison group of students who were waitlisted or admitted but did not attend BEAM, BEAM students were nearly 1.5x as likely to declare a STEM major and were particularly highly represented in those majors where math is the biggest gatekeeper, such as physics, engineering, economics, and math itself.
We measure the impact of our summer programs by evaluating student growth in problem-solving skills, persistence on difficult problems, and math interest. We measure mathematical growth using pre- and post-tests. We measure mathematical stamina and interest via student surveys. We have consistently seen growth among our LA students in all of these areas. For example, our Summer Away students increased their math perseverance (defined as an increase in the longest amount of time spent on a math problem) by 66% and Discovery students increased their math perseverance by 32%.