Project Exploration is working with a team of program providers, advocates and policy makers who are enthusiastic about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning in out of school time. Thanks to support from the Noyce Foundation, we have come together to assess out of school time STEM opportunities available for Chicago’s youth.
Out of school programming in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is more critical than ever: 80% of future jobs will require STEM literacy and skills, only 23% of Illinois’ graduating seniors are ready for college science, and, women, African Americans, and Latinos are still severely underrepresented in STEM. But most importantly, great experiences in STEM help young people discover what they are passionate about.
Schools cannot tackle these problems alone.
Students spend less than 20% of their waking hours in class. Programs like yours can help close the opportunity gap. As a program provider, you already know that high-quality experiences change students’ lives but that more students need chances to get – and stay – involved. This survey will ask you about the programs you ran between January 1 and December. 31, 2011, where they took place and information about the kinds of students who participated.
If you work with an organization that provides STEM out-of-school time programming to Chicago Public School Students, please take the survey. By doing this, you will help raise awareness about the importance of programming like yours and build a case for supporting out of school time STEM opportunities.
We will use information from this survey to create a citywide plan for enabling more students to get – and stay – involved with STEM from kindergarten through college. We will share that plan with you, other program providers and major stakeholders so that we get organized on behalf of Chicago’s young people.
 Please fill out a survey for each program that you run. It will take you about 20 minutes to complete the survey. We will send you a $5 gift card to Starbucks as a thank you.
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