Removing Systemic Barriers to STEAM Education

K-12 STEAM education

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

Academic and career pathways traditionally deemed as “professional,” particularly STEAM fields, are limited for underserved communities through systemic oppression, such as hiring discrimination, unjust higher education policies, and prejudiced ideas about what a professional look like. According to a recent Pew Research Center study,*people of color are significantly less likely to earn STEAM degrees in college than their white neighbors, which prevents them from entering into meaningful STEAM careers: "Hispanic workers make up 17% of total employment across all occupations, but just 8% of all STEAM workers…Black workers comprise 11% of all employed adults, compared with 9% of those in STEAM occupations. Their share is lower in some STEAM job clusters, including just 5% in engineering and architecture jobs." As a leading college preparation program, College Track seeks to include more diverse, first-generation scholars in STEAM education than ever before.

In order to address this urgent need, College Track seeks to implement a STEAM pathway for LA scholars facing systemic barriers, creating a pipeline of diverse high school graduates who will pursue college degrees and meaningful careers in STEAM fields. We will offer the following during the grant period, all of which will be free of charge to students.
1. Dual Enrollment: Through a partnership with Arizona State University, we offer high school scholars the opportunity to take online college-level courses. STEAM pathway students select from dozens of courses including computer programming, IT security, calculus, physics, statistics, and more. 2. AI Math Tutoring: College Track is beginning to implement an innovative new tool called Khan Academy, which includes online courses and a digital tutor that uses artificial intelligence to provide individualized math support to scholars. 3. Learning Labs: All College Track 9th graders take part in the Bytes Learning Lab, in which they will take their first steps with coding. Students that opt into the STEAM pathway will participate in additional Learning Labs each spring focused on coding, sound design, engineering, and more. 4. STEAM Career Exploration: It is often a personal connection to a mentor that inspires scholars to develop an identity as a STEAM leader and to pursue STEAM career options. We offer panels, workshops, and 1:1 mentorship with volunteers from dozens of STEAM companies.

If our project is successful, first-generation LA scholars of color will experience great social and economic mobility. Through careful evaluation, we have learned that College Track’s program has the following impact:
- Our students graduate college at a rate more than double the national average for first-generation, under-resourced students. More than 50% of our scholars declare STEAM majors, compared to 38% of students of colornationwide. - 89% of alumni are employed or in graduate school.
- Full-time employed College Track alumni who age 30+ earn over $91,000 per year ($20,000 higher than the national median). 92% of employed alumni earn enough to save each month, a strong indicator of upward social mobility.
- 57% of LA program alumni graduate college with zero student debt, with the average
scholar owing less than $5,800.

During the grant period, we will measure and evaluate the outcomes listed below. Some data is provided by partner schools, and some is collected by College Track staff through surveys and interviews. - 100% of high school freshmen will complete College Track’s Bytes learning lab
- 85% of high school juniors will earn a 3.0+ GPA, making them UC competitive
- 100% of high school seniors will graduate high school
- 95% of high school graduates will matriculate to a 2- or 4-year college
- 50% of College Track undergraduate scholars will declare a STEAM major (compared with 38% of students of color nationwide)
In the words of Abraham, a College Track Watts scholar who is headed to CSULB this fall, "In addition to my independent and academic explorations of engineering, joining robotics through college track gave me the opportunity to learn the competitive side of STEAM and an initial outlet to explore teamwork and collaboration through engineering."