November 2020 – NeoSTEM Sets Its Top Priorities

Through a process that began in July 2020, the NeoSTEM Ecosystem identified its top priorities and finalized them at the November 2020 meeting. 

Making STEM Opportunities Visible & Relevant to Students, Families and the Entire Community, with a Focus on Improving Black and Brown Students’ Engagement with STEM –

This work can take the form of some or all of the following:

• Communications initiative with features of local STEM professionals – with an intentional focus on Black and Brown STEM professionals.
• Clearly identified and widely communicated STEM workforce pathways, including a concentration on less-familiar STEM career opportunities.
• Widely communicated messaging about the relevance of STEM with a concentration on the importance of science.
• Broadly shared messaging intended to dispel fears of STEM.

SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT MENTORS AND AVAILABILITY, WITH A FOCUS ON ENSURING THAT BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO STEM MENTORS –  

This work can take the form of some or all of the following:

• Summary of all mentorship programs and analysis of them with possible mapping integration.
• Asking mentorship organizations to join with NeoSTEM and working to help support and leverage their work. 

WORKING TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO IMPROVE TECHNOLOGY AND ACCESS FOR STUDENTS IN OUR REGION – 

This work can take the form of some or all of the following:

• Asking organizations – DigitalC, Digital Equity Fund, PCs for People and others to join with NeoSTEM and working to help support and leverage their work. 
• Asking those without access to share their stories to share to call more attention to the technology and access challenges and how they are impacting life and learning.