Why is MainSTEAM needed?
Currently, approximately 81% of Asian-American high school students and 71% of white high school students attend high schools where the full range of math and science courses are offered (Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics). The access to these courses for American Indian, Native-Alaskan, black, and Hispanic high school students are significantly worse. Beyond ethnic differences, test scores have shown that only 18% of young women earn benchmark scores in math and science compared to 24% of young men. (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2018/03/despite_equal_interest_in_stem.html)
In the United States, only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in math and interested in a STEM career. (https://www.ed.gov/stem) While the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects STEM careers to grow from 13-22 percent between 2012 and 2022, our students are not currently equipped to fill those jobs. Beyond that, women only account for 28% of the STEM workforce. Our goal is to help our young women to meet the educational needs to fill those roles in STEM and the confidence to step us as leaders.
Our Response
MainSTEAM provides our nation’s most underserved students with access to quality STEM education & resources, with a focus on getting more women represented in STEM. By equipping our young ladies with dynamic STEM experiences, we enable them to become academically competitive future STEM pioneers.
What we offer
· MainSTEAM Forensics Program
· The Beauty of STEM
· STEAM College/Career Readiness
