BIPOC STEAM Ecosystem
Background
In the Portland Metro region, students from low-income communities and communities of color have fewer opportunities and limited access to meaningful Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) learning and career connection experiences. In most circumstances, STEAM learning for BIPOC youth is gated behind systemic geographic, economic, educational, and cultural barriers.
Additionally, entry into STEAM majors requires academic preparedness in high school, yet by 8th grade, Oregon Black and Latino students are 25-30 points behind their white peers in both math and science standardized tests. By the time they graduate from high school, STEAM higher education majors aren’t a viable option.
In order to address this opportunity gap, PMSP joined eight regional partners focused on providing services to marginalized youth to create the BIPOC STEAM Ecosystem. Together, the Ecosystem secures funding to grow STEAM opportunities in their communities, plans events, and supports each other in their critical work.
Our primary goal
To design and implement an ongoing system of support for high quality STEAM education for BIPOC youth and underrepresented girls to expand access to culturally affirming, high dose, STEAM and career connected learning for children, youth and families across the region.
By bringing together culturally-specific program providers and two school districts to work together, the ecosystem is able to develop an ongoing system of support for high-quality STEAM education for kids of color and girls.
BIPOC-focused STEAM Ecosystem empowers the community to lead and hold decision-making authority in order to expand access to high-quality STEM and STEAM learning opportunities for children and youth.
Our Partnership
Portland Metro STEM Partnership’s role is to support the BIPOC STEAM Ecosystem and its partners. As a collective, we have raised $2.1M to support expanding access to STEAM programming for BIPOC youth.
Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) generously matched $1.6M of these funds, bringing A total investment of $3.7M, further expanding access across our region.
