LA Summer of STEM

Vast partnerships create unprecedented learning opportunities for LA’s youth

ByLeah Shore, M.S., USC Sea Grant Communications Manager August 31, 2020

Providing meaningful and ample STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) enrichment opportunities to Los Angeles’ underserved youth, especially at Title 1 schools, was already a challenge to which Mayor Garcetti addressed in early 2020 by assigning a special task force. And then COVID hit. As with many other things in life during COVID-19, what was a challenge before became a dire situation after. As schools and other out-of-school-time opportunities shut down in March 2020, STEM exposure all but disappeared for many K-12 students. Students whose families were negatively impacted by job-loss and other effects of COVID-19, or those who were not able to take advantage of the distance learning implemented since schools shut down, were especially of concern.

The Mayor’s Task Force on STEM Out-of-School Time Enrichment (the “Task Force”)–which included representatives from Columbia Memorial Space Center, DIY Girls, Heart of LA, LA’s BEST, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, the Natural History Museum of LA County, UCLA, TXT: Teens Exploring Technology, The Broad Foundation, and USC–pivoted with the onset of COVID and focused on innovative, virtual ways to promote equitable access to STEM summer learning enrichment opportunities, particularly for students most in need of learning support. The Task Force, supported by the Mayor’s office, the Broad Foundation, and the California Community Foundation, believed that a coordinated effort by multiple STEM providers would reach the most LA youth during the summer than any one organization could do on its own.

USC Sea Grant, in partnership with USC’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies (“Wrigley”), was a proud member of the “LA Summer of STEM” pilot program this June-August. Other organizations involved in this summer program include the Aquarium of the Pacific, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, AltaSea, TXT:Teens Exploring Technology, LA County Natural History Museum, and the Columbia Memorial Space Center.

USC Sea Grant and Wrigley worked with three Los Angeles Unified School local districts to offer a series of facilitated, synchronous, and asynchronous lessons for grades K -12 that explored sustainability through the lens of sustainability, ocean, and coastal sciences. Students took virtual visits to the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, met live with science researchers, and also completed curriculum on topics such as sea level rise, plastics, aquaculture, and marine protected areas.

Melodie Grubbs, M.S., a Science, Research & Policy Specialist at USC Sea Grant, gave an online presentation on beaches and adaptation in July to hundreds of 3rd – 8th grade students in South Gate schools. Melodie expressed, “I was very impressed by the detail and variety of questions that the students asked about our beaches and what they can do to help.” USC Sea Grant and Wrigley have reached about 5,500 students so far this summer (3,500 high school and middle school students and 2,000 elementary school students).

USC Sea Grant's Melodie Grubbs presenting virtually on "Living Shorelines-Sea Level Rise, Habitats, and Solutions" on July 15, 2020. — USC Sea Grant’s Melodie Grubbs presenting virtually on “Living Shorelines-Sea Level Rise, Habitats, and Solutions” on July 15, 2020.

Beyond the obvious value of STEM enrichment, USC Sea Grant and Wrigley educators realized the invaluable importance of connecting with children during this time of COVID when isolation is so prevalent. Ann Close, Wrigley Institute Associate Director for Community Programs, said, “While providing STEM content for these young learners was essential, of equal importance was being a point of connection. We’ve all experienced so much loss associated with the pandemic—to be able to provide a sense of continuity with the students was invaluable. And I must say, our staff benefited from it as well!”

As a whole, the LA Summer of STEM program anticipated reaching about 45,000 children in the greater Los Angeles area, proving the great power of collaboration and coordination among STEM centers, schools, and youth groups to reach a common goal: educating our youth. The success of this pilot summer program has built momentum to expand this program into the fall to provide similar additional STEM opportunities for LA’s youth, many of whom will be limited to attending school online. This program revealed the positive impact a strong partnership across southern California can bring to children during this unprecedented time and the importance of having boundary organizations like USC Sea Grant and Wrigley to make connections and broadly engage youth with educational resources.

“This opportunity provided the catalyst to strengthen our relationships with the other STEM providers throughout the Los Angeles region as we worked together with schools to overcame the barriers of physical distance and equity to resources,” said USC Sea Grant’s Education Program Coordinator, Linda Chilton. “It was powerful to watch graduate students in STEM fields serve as mentors for near peers in K – 12th-grade programs.

USC Sea Grant and Wrigley plan to further their STEM education outreach within the LAUSD and beyond this year as many youths face unprecedented isolation and lack of learning opportunities due to online schooling.