BCP-LSA: After-School Apprenticeships

Citizen Schools, Boston MA

Investigators

Abstract

Citizen Schools proposes to engage 5,700 disadvantaged middle school students in hands-on computing and related STEM projects across its 7-state network of after-school and extended learning programs. By working side-by-side with professionals and graduate students from information technology and other scientific fields, middle school students will realize a connection between their after-school computing apprenticeships and the college and career opportunities to which they can aspire. In the 11-week apprenticeship courses offered within existing Citizen Schools after-school programs, middle school students will create authentic projects that develop a combination of hard and soft skills. Students will build relationships with the adult volunteers who will lead their apprenticeship courses, and these volunteers will speak credibly to students, sharing with them career opportunities in the computing and STEM fields and discussing the academic preparation necessary to pursue them. As a result, disadvantaged middle school students will be more likely to enroll in challenging courses when they enter high school, to better prepare for college, and ultimately to pursue careers in computing and other scientific fields. The project will include four types of apprenticeships: Programming in Computer Game Design, Programming in Robotics, Web Design and Web Related Projects, and Apprenticeships in Astronomy, Solar Energy, Biotechnology, Engineering, and other STEM fields. The project will be evaluated based on pre-post assessments of students? interest in pursuing computing and STEM careers, their understanding of the educational requirements for entry and advancement in those fields, and their sense of efficacy in their ability to attain college admission and career opportunity.