STEM in Practice: Developing Adults to Develop You

The U.S. Department of Education recognizes comprehensive afterschool as an important strategy to close the achievement and wealth gaps and protect against criminal activity, substance use disorder, and dropout, particularly among low-resourced youth (Center for American Progress). When afterschool incorporates STEM, studies demonstrate these students are better prepared for the future workforce, and, for BIPOC communities, provides a pathway to economic equity (America After 3PM). Engagement in STEM opportunities in childhood predicts engagement in STEM in adolescence (Morgan et al., 2016), which, in turn, increases the likelihood of majoring in STEM in college (Wang, 2013). The hands-on, consistent nature of OST programs provide an accessible, affordable, and consistent vehicle for STEM learning (National Research Council, 2015). 

There are nearly 3,000,000 NYS students who could benefit from after school programs, including the nearly 700,000 minors in NYS who live in poverty. 

Despite the benefits, the afterschool sector in NYS, and across the US, is historically plagued with underfunding, staffing shortages, low wages, and a dearth of professional development (PD) opportunities that put the afterschool workforce at-risk. The afterschool sector is largely composed of people of color in part-time employment with limited to no benefits (Temescal Associates, 2022) who receive minimum wage. Afterschool Alliance’s 2021 survey reported that 80% of programs were concerned about filling staff positions and 41% reported the need to mitigate staff burnout and increase staff engagement. The Afterschool Alliance estimates that for every NYS youth enrolled in afterschool, four are on the waitlist. Among the competitive grant programs in NYS, three out of four qualified applications for state funding go unfunded during each round.

There is an opportunity within afterschool to provide high-quality, culturally responsive and gender appropriate STEM education to the nearly 500,000 youth who enroll in these programs annually in NYS. However, all too often, youth are confronted with systemic inequities, inherent biases, historical traumas, and social constructs that inhibit their ability to obtain educational achievement, particularly in STEM. We believe that afterschool professionals have the power to make afterschool a space for girls to explore STEM - without fear or judgment - in ways that are applicable to their lives and their futures. While girls' abilities in STEM are not significantly different from boys, girls, particularly girls of color, face significant barriers (related to race, gender, economic status, accessibility, and inclusion) that affect their longterm engagement with STEM. 

The Network for Youth Success seeks to change this by creating a new generation of afterschool professionals qualified to provide culturally-and gender- responsive STEM education in their afterschool programs. The challenge with STEM equity within the afterschool space is complex; however, our project addresses: (1) the lack of efficacy and/or skills of staff to provide STEM education; (2) staff burnout and high turnover; (3) budget constraints that have prevented educators from incorporating STEM in their programs; (4) the lack of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) principles in current STEM curriculum. (5) challenges related to scaling informal STEM programming from an equity lens. 

In order to build a sustainable model and reach the most programs possible, we are proposing an evidenced-based, virtual Training of Trainers (ToT) approach that will train 15 individuals from across NYS to directly train afterschool programs to incorporate gender-responsive STEM activities. To encourage participation, each of the 15 individuals (educators, program staff, supervisors, regional network members, Child Care Resource & Referral staff, etc.) will receive $200 to complete each round (three rounds for $600 total), in addition to $200 for each training they offer to programs subsequently. Those interested will be required to apply for this opportunity, which offers a reliable and consistent income stream. The ToT curriculum will include the Click2SciencePD modules as well as SciGirls Strategies as, together, they provide evidence-based STEM, culturally- and gender- responsive activities. We are following ACRES (Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators in STEM, a nationally acclaimed coaching program that builds knowledge and skills so afterschool educators can confidently facilitate STEM experiences for youth), which includes a two-hour workshop (covering a specific STEM-based skill) followed by two two-hour interactive coaching sessions where participants demonstrate how they delivered the skill. The ToT cohort will complete this process three times - learning three new STEM equity skills to share with the programs they train. 

Our goal is to create a Community of Practice among the cohort of ToT participants where they will convene quarterly to share best practices and troubleshoot challenges they are facing - this is also an opportunity for refresher trainings that will be led by our PD Director and STEM Coordinator. 

The coaching sessions for ToT participants will be offered by our STEM Coordinator, PD Director (who is NYS TTAP certified), and members of our STEAM Girls Collaborative Leadership Team, all of whom have the programmatic experience and qualifications to provide coaching to our cohort. Leadership Team members will also be offered stipends to participate as coaches.

Once the trainers complete a training, they will be required to offer the STEM training to programs (5-8 programs per session) - focusing particularly on the region in which they reside in order to build networks locally. Program/providers who participate will receive $100 for completing the training followed by an additional $100 when they complete a survey - where they must describe how they applied STEM equity - at the end of the school year. 

We will take into account different learning styles - ensuring to apply a JEDI lens to this series, as we have with all of our PD offerings, as well as ensuring a Spanish translator and ASL interpreter are on-hand to support our ToT participants. We will apply Adult Learning Theory to our curricula with a commitment to ongoing improvements that are responsive to feedback from our participants. We will instill these principles in our ToT trainers who will pass on these principles and JEDI practices to the programs they train, who, in turn, will use these methods to ensure their STEM activities are gender and culturally responsive.  

Annually, the Network supports 1,500 NYS afterschool providers and educators who are largely people of color and are often receiving minimum wage, through professional development, technical assistance, and networking opportunities. Our participants include individuals who work at foundations, regional networks, community-based organizations, and in higher education; the diversity in both the background and the geographic location of these educators help us to reach non-traditional educators and providers. Through these efforts, we indirectly support the 500,000 youth enrolled in afterschool programs across New York State. 

In order to understand the needs of the afterschool workforce and the trainings they want to receive, we regularly survey our community - at our Annual Conference, during our professional development trainings, and as part of our duties as the lead agency overseeing the 15+ NYS Regional STEM Hubs and 15 Regional afterschool networks, each of which serve up to 250 members. Data from these surveys, in addition to the research of the Afterschool Alliance, which is a group of organizations, stakeholders, funders, and government agencies seeking to expand afterschool in the US, demonstrates the lack of support for afterschool educators in NYS and the US. This field is plagued with staff shortages, burnout, and low wages; however, our solution offers them the opportunity to become STEM trainers for afterschool programs to increase their income, build a community of practice to reduce burnout and increase social support, and expand the accessibility of gender-responsive STEM education in afterschool programs.   

Over the course of a one-year period, we will train 15 providers using a Training of Trainers approach to each serve 5-8 programs through an intensive virtual training series, one-on-one assistance, and evidence-based group coaching. We will ensure that the 15 trainers represent the diversity of New York State in terms of geography, socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, and ESL (focused on serving at least one native Spanish speaker). In total, a minimum of 75 programs and a maximum of 120 programs will receive culturally-responsive and gender appropriate STEM education, representing at least 750 youth, including at least 375 girls in our first year. 

The Network is the only organization dedicated to increasing access to and improving the quality of out-of-school-time learning for school-aged youth across NYS. We offer free and paid training as well as credentialing and accreditation to 5,000 educators, annually. In 2020, we were awarded the first STEM Next Opportunity Fund multi-year grant in NYS focused on supporting afterschool programs in providing hands-on, immersive STEM learning experiences, which was part of the Million Girls Moonshot, designed to engage one million girls in the US in STEM learning over the next five years. We have maintained this funding and in our most recent final report, we served over 150 programs across NYS representing 1,500 girls. This includes training 80 programs on the evidence-based Click2SciencePD curriculum, which applies a ToT approach to developing STEM practices and mindset. 

We have secured grant funding since 2020 from the Overdeck Foundation to support STEM advocacy efforts aimed at ensuring state agencies mandate STEM education in their funding opportunities for OST and to establish a statewide STEM policy agenda. Our advocacy for community schools led to $1.2 million for three community schools technical assistance centers and $250 million in community schools set-aside funding. Additionally, we lead STEM Hubs across the state, which represent the state’s ten economic regions, and STEM Ecosystems (businesses, universities, and organizations focused on the STEM field, for example, the IF/THEN Collection, a digital representation of women in STEM, The Society of Women Engineers, and TechBridge Girls, which develops culturally-relevant and gender-responsive STEM curricula), which were formed through the STEM Funders Alliance as a national effort to encourage environments that will allow multiple STEM initiatives to grow. The Network leads efforts to connect STEM Ecosystem members to programs, hubs, and regional networks across NYS - and nationally -  to promote gender equity in STEM. 

In 2021, we received funding from the Allstate Foundation to improve our internal practices and external offerings to administer evaluations, conduct an equity audit, and complete one-on-one meetings with Board, staff, and external stakeholders. Since that time, we have modified our practices to apply a JEDI lens and trained thousands of afterschool providers to apply JEDI principles to their programming, including STEM education. 

Since 2020, the Network has used content form Click2SciencePD.org and the SciGirls strategies in training afterschool professionals. This content focused on facilitating informal STEAM experiences for all youth, including girls, in order to create chances in afterschool programs for youth to do science and engineering practices. Certified trainers in SciGirls led sessions in NYS to share practices for engaging girls and young women. Other workshops focused on engineering design practices, scientific practices, and inclusion strategies. These sessions were delivered at conferences across the state and in one-time live workshops.

TImothy Fowler, Professional Development Director, leads the STEM equity work for the Network. He has worked in early childhood and youth programs facilitating anti-bias curriculum and leadership around social justice issues. He has been part of the NY STEAM Girls Collaborative Leadership Team since 2016.

1,500/annually have received Professional Development training. 

The Network was established to legitimize the afterschool and out-of-school time (OST) fields and, while we have made great strides to develop best practices through professional development, accreditation, and credentialing, there is much more to be done. We believe that support from the Challenge will not only bring much-needed awareness to the benefits of afterschool programming, but establish the Network as an expert in the field with solutions that can be scaled and replicated across the US. We will use this funding to pilot our solution, which incorporates many evidence-based service delivery mechanisms we already use separately, but have not had the opportunity to test together as it would require curricula development, stipends for participants and additional capacity from our STEM Coordinator (who would move from part-time to full-time with this funding).  

Oftentimes, afterschool programs are overlooked as learning opportunities for youth, yet research shows that this is where STEM learning thrives. There is currently no state funding dedicated solely to directly supporting this work, and as an intermediary not a direct service provider this makes it all the more challenging to secure funding. 

We know the components of our approach work as a result of external research and our experience applying the models; however, when combined, we believe our solution offers a sustainable model of expanding and deepening STEM education participation longterm, all while supporting the afterschool workforce. Many afterschool educators and providers do not view themselves as STEM proficient, our ToT model allows them to learn, test, demonstrate, and then apply their learnings - while building a Community of Practice that can evolve and improve the field of STEM equity in afterschool in the longterm. Because the ToTs are from the same community and sector as the programs they are training, they are uniquely positioned to reach participants where they are. 

We believe that over the course of one year, with this funding and support, we can train 15 trainers to deliver professional development who will, in turn, reach 75 educators/providers representing at least 33 program sites. Those educators/providers will engage an estimated 750 youth in STEM learning, including at least 375 girls in Year 1. If we are able to sustain this program through grant support and fee for service revenue, our estimates are that, by year 5, this program will reach 375 professionals, representing at least 165 program sites and engaging at least 3,750 youth in STEM learning, including at least 1,875 girls.

The Team Lead and CEO of the Network for Youth Success, Kelly McMahon, directly oversees and works with our 15 regional networks, which allows us to develop and maintain deep connections at the local level across diverse parts of NYS.  She is also on the board of the Empire State Society of Association Executives and the Governor's Childcare Availability Taskforce with partners far reaching across NYS. Prior to joining the Network for Youth Success, Kelly was employed by the Capital District YMCA for over ten years, and served in her final capacity as Operations Director for the Albany Branch. Kelly began her career at the YMCA as an afterschool site director then quickly rose to Childcare Director, and was then promoted to District Childcare Director overseeing school-age programs in six school districts. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice from Russell Sage College, an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education from Hudson Valley Community College, and a certificate from ECornell in Leading Remote Teams. Kelly also completed the School-age Childcare (SAC) Credential Program and later became an accreditation coach and endorser for the Network for Youth Success.

Grants Newsletter

Our solution is innovative because, as far as we are aware, no other organization has attempted a ToT approach, combined with stipends and evidence-based coaching, to encourage and empower the afterschool workforce to incorporate an equitable approach to STEM activities in their work. This solution not only addresses the challenge posed by MIT, but addresses the historical challenges faced by the afterschool workforce, which greatly affect their capacity to promote and apply STEM and STEM equity in their programs. Additionally, the Network is uniquely positioned to lead this solution due to our deep ties to, experience with, and knowledge of the afterschool workforce in New York State. If successful, this model could be scaled in New York State through fee for service revenue as well as replicated by our partners (also intermediaries) leading similar work in other states in the US.

Activity: Offering stipends for ToT participants 

Output: Among a group that is underpaid, stipends lessen the burden on them and achieve our goal of 15 ToT participants who complete the training.  

Outcome: We will expand our capacity to offer STEM education to the afterschool workforce in New York State.  

Activity: Utilizing evidence-based ACRES coaching 

Output: Based on external research of the ACRES model, we believe the 15 ToT participants will have the confidence to administer STEM trainings and support 5-8 programs through the process of applying it. The 15 ToTs will continue to offer these trainings longterm.

Outcome: A growing number of afterschool programs in New York State will have the tools and knowledge to incorporate gender-responsive STEM activities in their programs, leading to more youth with access to, knowledge of, and interest in STEM (with the hope that more will explore STEM majors in higher education). 

Activity: Embedding JEDI principles within the curriculum

Output: The 15 ToT participants will learn key JEDI principles and how to put them into practice. The programs/providers who complete a ToT training will have the tools to work with diverse youth. 

Outcome: Diverse youth, including those historically excluded from STEM, will engage with STEM activities in their afterschool programs, leading to STEM exploration in higher education.  

Activity: Enlisting our STEM Coordinator, PD Director, and STEAM Girls Collaborative Leadership Team to provide coaching and mentoring.  

Output: The 15 ToT participants will have access to experts in the field that will build their confidence/efficacy, networks, and skills to better support their work. 

Outcome: The 15 ToTs will continue as trainers in the longterm, expanding the capacity of the afterschool workforce across NYS. 

Activity: Convening ToT cohort quarterly

Output: This will create a Community of Practice (CoP) of trainers, which have been incredibly helpful for our PD Director who is a member of a number of STEM and JEDI -based CoPs. 

Outcome: This will increase the likelihood that they will practice longterm and it will improve the field through the sharing of best practices and key learnings. 

Activity: Offering stipends for Programs/Providers who complete the course and then as part of a follow-up survey

Output: They will complete the course; they will share STEM in practice examples with the Network. 

Outcome: Program/Providers will incorporate STEM activities into their programs and we will have examples of that work.  

Activity: Offering Evidence-Based STEM curriculum (Click2Science PD, SciGirls, etc.)

Output: ToTs and Programs/Providers will have the tools to continue their work in the longterm. 

Outcome: The incorporation of STEM activities within the afterschool sector will deepen and expand leading to more youth engaging with STEM in higher education.

N/A

7 FT, 2 PT, 2 Contracts

6 years

In 2021, we completed an equity audit, where we committed $50,000 in-kind, which led to us securing an additional $200,000 grant from the Allstate Foundation to respond to the results gleaned from the audit, which included supporting our efforts to embed JEDI principles within our internal practices and external offerings. Aligned with our mission, the goal of that project was to ensure that all youth, regardless of background, ability, or historical treatment of their community, have access to high-quality learning opportunities by offering afterschool professionals practical tools to better engage and support diverse youth through our professional development program, all while ensuring these principles were modeled by the Network internally. We completed the following activities: integrated JEDI into our current PD; developed a new training series that provides our educators with the skills to apply a JEDI lens to their work; and built our internal capacity to administer these trainings going forward.

Examples of ways that we incorporate JEDI principles into our work, including: ensuring PD materials are available in multiple languages (including our SAC Credentialing materials), creating room agreements and safe spaces (virtually and in-person) for our trainings, providing ASL interpreters for our trainings, and instituting processes for regular feedback through surveys, focus groups, and interviews. We also developed a new training series to offer out-of-school time providers the practical tools they need to work with diverse youth. The workshops focus on positive youth development approaches through the different lenses of diversity (it is of note that NYS is incredibly diverse with rural, suburban, and urban areas as well as areas that are majority BIPOC and others that are majority White, as well as wide socio-economic diversity; we must take this all into account when developing our trainings), including how to build trust with youth who have different gender identity than staff and how environments can be adapted to welcome and support all youth. Crafting such workshops with the direct input and oversight of different social groups, especially those groups that are marginalized, helps improve the quality of programs for all youth that participate. We apply this same logic to our STEM trainings to ensure they are equitable and inclusive. Additionally PD offerings include Embracing Change: Finding Common Ground on Intersectionality About Race, Gender, Religion, Class and Sexual Orientation; Bias Talks: The Language of Accountability; From Awareness to Advocacy: How Do I Show Up As An Agent of Change?; and Unseen Tears: The Impact of Native American Residential Boarding Schools in Western New York. Lastly, through the support of our consultant, our PD Director is able to administer these training independently as a result of observation, instruction, and feedback - the same coaching model we will use with our ToTs.