While 26 percent of U.S. students took Algebra I before high school in 2009, only 12 percent of African American students and 17 percent of Hispanic students did so. This has created a substantial gap in the number of post-secondary degrees these ethnicities earn in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Just 7.5 percent of all STEM degrees awarded in the 2008-09 academic year were awarded to African American students, and seven percent were awarded to Hispanics. Furthermore, 23 percent of workers in the STEM fields are women, even though that gender makes up nearly half of the U.S. workforce.
Women and a majority of this nation's many ethnicities are underrepresented in classrooms that teach STEM, and are therefore underrepresented in STEM professions—a growing sum of 26 million U.S. jobs.
North Carolina's JOBS Commission
In 2009, North Carolina leadership recognized that a major gap existed between what students were taught in school and the skills required to succeed professionally. In order to better prepare students for the workforce or college, to better prepare them for success, the state established the Joining Our Businesses & Schools (JOBS) Commission. A joint legislative endeavor, the JOBS Commission strives to establish an organic and replicable model for aligning the efforts of local business, industry, policy, and education. I originally got involved with the JOBS Commission as a board member, which led directly to my involvement with the Wake NC State STEM Early College High School.
A product of the Commission, Wake NC State STEM is an innovative high school stemming from a partnership between the Wake County Public School System, North Carolina State University, and the North Carolina New Schools Project. The school brings project-based learning to students underserved in traditional high school settings and underrepresented in the STEM fields. Students graduate in five years with not only a high school diploma, but two years of college credit in STEM classes.
Engineering's Grand Challenges
A small school by design, the curriculum revolves around solving the "Grand Challenges" - a series of fundamental problems felt around the world whose solutions would positively impact the economy and everyday life. There are 14 Grand Challenges specific to the field of engineering. One of the more difficult challenges is to provide worldwide access to clean water, while another is making solar energy economical. The students at Wake NC STEM work daily to piece together solutions to these challenges.
That's one of the most important aspects of the school. Besides bringing in new cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints to the industries of STEM, it also familiarizes the next generation of professionals with the world's toughest problems. Imagine STEM fields full of diversity and full of professionals who have worked toward solving these challenges since their youth. The beauty of this program is that it's not just an imaginative construct, but it's actually becoming a reality.
Replicating the Success
Now, the key is to replicate the success of the Wake NC STEM program. As co-chair of the school’s business advisory board for all three years of its existence, I've seen the program evolve from a prototype to a successful public magnet school. An important charge of the business advisory board is to further the school's mission to support similar high schools in their infancy across the whole state of North Carolina. Several similar schools have already popped up, and it's the job of the business advisory boards, made up of major STEM employers, to provide guidance to schools across the state.
Replicating Wake NC STEM's success will be difficult in rural areas that lack a robust base of industry employers. Our strategy will be to encourage companies with a statewide presence to get involved in the schools' success. Digital solutions will also allow us to virtually supply internships and externships where they can't be supplied physically.
It's a noble cause, bringing in-demand education to the underrepresented, and I hope to continue to be a part of this school's everyday success. As an employer, it's important to help train tomorrow's professionals. As a mother, it's important for me to see these children succeed, regardless of their heritage or background.