SUNY-ESF will become one of six universities involved in the Afterschool STEM Mentoring Program, pairing graduate students with middle school students to increase interest and knowledge in science among young children.

The school will join five other State University of New York schools to expand the joint project between SUNY and the New York Academy of Sciences. It will be funded by a $2.95 million grant from the National Science Foundation, according to an Aug. 8 SUNY-ESF press release.

The mentoring program recruits graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who serve as educators and role models to the middle school students, according to the release.  After a semester with the program, the mentors are eligible for an Academy Fellow Teaching Credential.

Ellis Rubinstein, president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, said the program will benefit both mentors and students.

“The Afterschool STEM Mentoring Program is an elegant solution to two complex problems,” Rubinstein said in the press release. “First, it engages students from low-resource settings in STEM subjects; second, it provides STEM graduate students and post-docs with opportunities to hone their communication and teaching skills.”

It will run from the first week of October until late December and focuses on fourth graders through eighth graders. It uses classrooms at organizations such as the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs, according to the New York Academy of Sciences website.

The two-month program is a joint project between the State University of New York and the New York Academy of Sciences, an independent, nonprofit organization with a core mission of advancing science and technology.

Training for the mentors begins in September and takes two days, according to the New York Academy of Sciences website. One day is spent on training the mentors in teaching their chosen topics, and the other on youth development.

The mentors choose from a variety of subjects to teach, including genetics, space science, math and human body systems. They are assigned to a site, preferably within a half-hour of their homes or labs, and paired with a co-teacher, according to the New York Academy of Science’s website.

The after-school classes are once a week from 4-6 p.m. and are intended to help students graduate from high school while preparing them for college, according to a SUNY-ESF press release.

Mentors are critical for student success, and the program will benefit society at large, Dr. Meghan Groome, executive director of education and public programs at the New York Academy of Sciences, said in a SUNY press release.

Said Groome: “Research continues to show that role models are vital in helping kids become the next generation of scientists and STEM-literate citizens.”

Published on August 26, 2013 at 2:43 am

Contact Emma: ecwozny@syr.edu