From the Executive Director The year 2020 has proven to be one of unprecedented change around the world. Change that has deeply impacted our lives, communities and the children we serve. Our commitment to prepare students for the critical STEM jobs of the future has not waivered. Since our inception in 2015, we have opened doors to high quality STEM programs to over 100,000 local students, both within the school day and through afterschool and summer programs. We have worked with many partners, both locally and nationally, who have offered us support and insights into the needs of the workforce so that we can craft experiences to help students, especially those most underrepresented in the high - wage, high - demand STEM fields to develop 21st century technology skills.
Our work is designed with the end in mind: To develop a robust talent pipeline for economic prosperity, and a vibrant and healthy community where our students will thrive, be financially healthy, and have abundant opportunities to pursue their dreams. During these challenging times, we have: • Expanded our geographic reach by shifting to a hybrid or virtual learning environment, increasing student participation in STEM + CS learning during out of school time. • Redesigned professional learning for educators to accelerate the growth of computer science programs during the school day. • Accelerated our work with regard to closing the digital divide and structured program development to address elements that will help close COVID learning gaps. This year, we along with every other organization, had to find new ways to operate and to meet our mission. What does it take to be successful in these times? It takes critical thinking as well as the ability to apply tested strategies to solve novel problems. These critical thinking skills underpin every program and experience we develop. Whether it be through coding and programming a robot, through exploring AI and data science, learning how to fly a drone, or by hacking an engineering solution to solve an environmental problem or develop a roadmap for starting their own business, we will continue into 2021 to engage students in experiences that foster these skills so that we help open doors for a brighter future for those living in our community. We are seeing results! I am thankful for every one of you reading this, our partners. Without your support, we simply could not do this critical work! I can ’ t wait to see what we will accomplish together in the upcoming year! Kathleen Schofield, Ed.D Executive Director
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