About

Ecosystems like yours are helping give the future of STEM education the PUSH it needs. Now more than ever, our systems of learning are ripe for reinvention. Too many classrooms, programs, and institutions lack the explicit equity focus needed to ensure each student succeeds. In turn, students from specific racial and ethnic groups, namely Black and Brown students, continue to be underrepresented in STEM majors and fields, creating not only a diversity deficit but a deficit of ideas and innovation needed to solve society’s most pressing problems.
the STEM PUSH Network, a National Science Foundation INCLUDES Alliance, has brought together regional STEM Learning Ecosystems, precollege STEM programs, researchers, culturally sustaining pedagogy experts, higher education admissions leaders, and other partners to create systemic change in post-secondary STEM admissions. Together, they’re addressing a key breakpoint in current learning pathways for Black and Brown students: the successful transition from precollege STEM programs to undergraduate STEM programs.
To increase the number of Black and Brown students pursuing STEM by reinventing the relationship between precollege STEM programs and higher education admissions.

About the network

Regional STEM Learning Ecosystems are the connective tissue that make this work possible. They help bring precollege programs together with colleges, universities, admissions offices, other ecosystems, and accreditation professionals to build the relationships, connections, and understanding that drive transformational change.

The STEM PUSH Network partners with established, urban-based STEM Learning Ecosystems, who commit to recruiting precollege STEM programs from across their region, developing a related plan of action with their programs, and attending STEM PUSH convenings, among other expectations and benefits.

As of January 2022, the network has coordinated two cohorts of ecosystems and programs.

Cohort 1

California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania

SMASH Logo

Summer Math and Science Honors (SMASH) Academy

Mesa Cohort Logo

University of California’s Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program

California Academy of Sciences Logo

California Academy of Science’s Careers in Science (CiS) Intern Program

Beam + Transparent Logo

Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM)

Project Exploration Logo

Project Exploration

Northeastern Illinois University’s STEM Pathways program

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum’s Teenagers Exploring and Explaining Nature and Science (TEENS) program

The Rockefeller University Logo

The Rockefeller University’s Science Outreach program

ny sci logo

New York Hall of Science’s Science Career Ladder

The Cooper Union Logo

The Cooper Union’s STEM Outreach program

Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health

Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health

Young Naturalists Logo

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Young Naturalists

The Citizen Science Lab Logo

The Citizen Science Lab’s ICE-T Project

Gene Team Logo

University of Pittsburgh’s Gene Team

The Boys and Girls Club of Eastern Pennsylvania Logo

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania’s Artificial Intelligence Pathways Institute

Cohort 2

Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio

The Univeristy of Arizona Native American Science and Engineering Program Logo

The University of Arizona’s Native American Science & Engineering Program

Arizona State University Logo

Arizona State University’s Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program

Ariznoa University Logo

The University of Arizona’s Imagine Your STEM Future

Arizona Mesa Logo

The University of Arizona’s Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program

Kean University Logo

Kean University’s Group Summer Scholars Research Program

Camden County College Logo

Camden County College’s 21st Century STEM Scholars Program

HIT in the Cle Logo

HIT in the CLE

Case Western Reserve University’s Provost Scholars

Active Cohorts Map

Whether you’re a current STEM PUSH cohort member or a STEM Learning Ecosystem looking to dive deeper into equity and college admissions, know that you have a crucial role to play. You are the link that helps bring all the needed STEM stakeholders together to build a more dynamic and diverse school, college, and career pathway for Black and Brown learners.

 

By better understanding your role, you can help actively reimagine and rebuild relationships between precollege STEM programs and college admissions in your region, and ultimately, support deeper equity and diversity in STEM learning and careers.

The STEM PUSH Network designed this digital playbook to help you: