Spelman College Reaches out to Elementary and Middle School Kids about STEM
Spelman College has come up with a great way to get young children, especially students of color, interested in STEM and increase their number of science and math majors.
The STEM Education Outreach Program, along with MASTERS, are working to make science, technology, engineering and mathematics reachable to young students in metro Atlanta’s elementary and secondary school system.
Inside Spelman wrote about both programs and what they have to offer to elementary and middle school kids. Jennifer Johnson, administrator of the STEM Education Outreach Program, wants nothing more than to expand Spelman STEM majors. She said when she was in school, Johnson had many female role models who excelled in math and science.
“It wasn’t a stretch to see myself as an engineer because I was inundated with these images; that’s why outreach is important.” Johnson said.
The MASTERS Program was founded by Christina Fennell. Inside Spelman says that the program focuses on making courses like math relatable to elementary and middle school students, in hopes they will eventually pursue a career around it and other similar courses. Fennell started MASTERS while still in high school. She is now a sophomore at Spelman, where she has re-launched MASTERS in October.
These two programs are a part of other programs of the community that have taken on this mission. In the eight-week period, Fennell and some Spelman students worked with 20 third, fourth and fifth-graders of M. Agnes Jones Elementary’s after school program. They would lead students in projects that showed them how math can be used on a daily basis.
The number of colored women in the STEM fields are low. But they will soon rise with the help of strong female role models and the help of these programs.
To read the full story, go to Insidespelman.com.