Urban Mathematics and Science Student Service Corp

Fresno Unified School District, Fresno CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Fresno Unified School District, in partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will build on the strengths of existing district and after-school partnerships and programs to create a model for an Urban Mathematics and Science Student Service Corp. High-school juniors and seniors, recruited from underrepresented groups, will receive intensive, ongoing specialized training to serve as mentors of science, mathematics and technology for at-risk, middle-school students. Mentoring sessions will engage middle-grades students in problems drawn from existing curricula that are aligned with national standards. The goal of the program is to enable both mentors and mentees to improve and advance in their formal school setting, while maintaining an informal environment during the after-school mentoring sessions. Career education will be addressed throughout the program. Strategies are planned for involving parents in a substantive way, including workshops and events at the school sites. Middle- and high-school students will present examples of their work to the community. Evaluation will focus on the academic progress of mentors as well as mentees.