After-School STEM Programs Need Our Help
Want to know where children can become critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, supportive teammates, rational decision makers, successful leaders, social change-makers, and informed citizens? Look no further than after-school STEM programs.
“The idea is to show kids that science is all around them,” says Ron Ottinger, Director of STEM Next. Based out of the University of San Diego, STEM Next is a national leader in increasing opportunities for STEM learning in communities across the country, especially for America’s youth.
What happens if after school opportunities are taken away?
When President Trump revealed his new budget plan in March, he placed the 21st Century Community Learning Centers — the single largest source of funding for after-school and summer programs — on the chopping block. If his proposed budget is passed by Congress, it will directly impact 1.6 million students across rural, urban, and suburban communities in all 50 states.
Why the cut? According to Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s Budget Director, there is “no evidence” proving the benefits of after-school programming that justify the expense — a statement Ottinger, educators, and leaders throughout the Afterschool Alliance all knew to be untrue.
To oppose this devastating budget cut, they needed specific proof of after-school program success. Thanks to STEM Next and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation’s research, they have it.
Survey says…
In a study that looked across 11 states, 1,600 youth in grades 4–12, and 160 after-school programs, researchers gathered information through program observations and self-reports from the youth involved. The result?
80% of students reported positive gains in their STEM career knowledge. 78% showed a positive change in their reported interests. 72% in their perseverance and critical thinking skills. Most importantly, 73% reported an increase in STEM identity, the belief that he or she can do well and succeed at STEM subjects.
As far as career benefits from STEM after-school programs go, Ottinger says that not all students will necessarily end up as scientists. “We’re talking about the middle skill jobs that are hardest to fill right now,” he says. “Technician jobs that pay well, that pay beyond a living wage.”
Who suffers most from funding cuts?
While educational STEM programs do exist beyond 21st Century-funded programs, the problem is accessibility.
“The President’s proposal would be particularly devastating to low-income children of color and girls who already face barriers to pursuing STEM careers,” Ottinger wrote in a statement for STEM Next.
According to Ottinger’s statement, “The wealthiest 20% of families devote almost seven times the resources to their children’s enrichment activities outside of school than do the poorest 20%, leading to a significant learning and opportunity gap.”
Between middle class and low-income children, that results in a 4,000-hour deficit in after school and summer learning by the time they reach sixth grade.
After-school STEM programs also work to close the racial gap in STEM fields. African-Americans and Latinos represent 29% of the general workforce, but just 16% of the advanced manufacturing workforce, 15% of the computing workforce, and 12% of the engineering workforce. Those rates have essentially remained flat in recent years, according to Ottinger.
As for women in STEM, Ottinger says they have seen no significant statistical improvement over the last 13 years, a fact that STEM after-school programs are trying to change. Ottinger pointed to a study by Robert Tai at the University of Virginia showing students who report an interest in science-related fields by eighth grade are two to three times more likely to earn a STEM degree in college. Meaning if girls are exposed to STEM in after-school programs, their likelihood of pursuing a STEM career is higher.
The research and statistics are clear: eliminating after-school programs would push low-income children, girls, and children of color even farther behind.
So what can we do about it?
Call your elected representatives.
Let them know where you stand on the budget cuts for 21st Century Community Learning Centers and after-school programs, both STEM-related and across the board.
Think your call won’t help? Think again.
“It’s been proven that calls and emails to offices, whether in their district or in D.C., make a difference,” says Dorie Turner Nolt, who worked in President Barack Obama’s Department of Education and is now an education consultant.
“If you really care, call about it. Don’t think it won’t make a difference, because it will.”
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Want to learn more about the impact of STEM education for girls, low-income youth, and children of color?
— Changing the Game for Girls in STEM (Kara Semmit & Linda Kekelis, TechBridge)
— Students’ Out-of-School-Time Science Projects Lead to Interest in Science and Math Careers (Robert Tai, UVA)
—Letter to Congress from the Afterschool Alliance and other organizations against President Trump’s budget proposal.
— STEM Ready America, a compendium of articles and studies on STEM education.
