Up and Atom

Pima County’s problems with gender equity in STEM go from career to secondary education. From 2013-2020 in Pima County, women 18-24 represented the largest demographic living in poverty (2013-2020, the US Census Bureau). Nationally, women accounted for 29.3% of STEM federal workers (2019, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Most of the women working in STEM in the federal sector were White (66.02%). By comparison, 14.58% were African American or Black, 9.76% Asian, 6.42% Hispanic or Latina, 0.97% were American Indian/Alaska Native (2019, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). In 2021, for STEM Middle Skilled Occupations, which includes occupations like technicians and developers, females only represent 12% (Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2021).  Women at Raytheon in 2022, one of Tucson’s largest employers, only made up 25.5% of their workforce globally (2022, Raytheon).  The pipeline into STEM careers begins to leak as early as college and high school as well. 

In University, Black, Indigenous, and women of color receive 13.13% of STEM bachelor’s degrees, 12.4% of master’s degrees, and 6.8% of doctorate degrees (NSF NCSES, 2019).  Despite a reversal in the gender gap in terms of undergraduate enrollment, women still enroll in STEM majors at lower rates than their male counterparts (Legewie & Diprete, 2014; Riegle-Crumb, King, Grodsky, & Muller, 2012). Women are also less likely to pursue 4 postgraduate degrees in STEM fields, and less likely than their male counterparts to work in STEM after graduating – male college graduates are more than twice as likely to work in STEM fields after receiving their degree as female college graduates (Lim, Haddad, Butler, & Giglio, 2013; Strayhorn, DeVita, & Blakewood, 2012). 49.2% Women who originally intended to major in Science and Engineering switch after the first year to a non-STEM major, compared to 32.5% of men. In turn, Minority women receive 13.13% of STEM bachelor’s degrees, 12.4% of master’s degrees, and 6.8% of doctorate degrees (NSF NCSES, 2019). 

The specific problem within the Gender Equity in the STEM challenge that the Up and Atom afterschool program is working to decrease is successive drop-off in completion rates from K-12 through undergraduate years. The Arizona Department of Education reports that Pima County had a dropout rate for female students of 4% in 2012 and that percentage increased to 6.2% in 2022 (2012,2022 Arizona Department of Education). The 4-Year Graduation Rate for female students decreased from 81.9% in 2016 to 74.8% in 2021 (2016,2021 Arizona Department of Education). For 5-Year Completion for female students decreased from 81% in 2011 to 76.4% in 2021 (2011,2021 Arizona Department of Education).  

Our Up and Atom after school program will support our priority to create pipelines for girls to enter post-secondary institutions ready to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Our community is saying there is a shortage of employees in the STEM workforce, but an even greater need for women in these job openings. Our after-school program will target 6th-12th grade girls of color in a Title 1, or low-income, school in Pima County. The 10-20 girls we identified a school will be paired with women in secondary STEM programs. These hands-on learning experiences will empower girls with knowledge about STEM/CTE fields, build relationships with women leaders in the community, and increase their confidence in pursuing these pipelines in the future. 

Up and Atom includes girls as co-developers of solutions. They participate in the avenues the course work travels. The program also provides a diverse and equitable opportunity for girls of color and families to engage with post-graduates, boosts their confidence, and allows girls to feel that their voice matters.  

The content of Up and Atom is in line with the work of Jacquelynne Eccles. Eccles’ work says that a person’s values and expectancy for success influence a person’s occupational choice (Eccles Parson] et al.,1983; Eccles1994,2006). That is why Up and Atom will expand girls’ existing values and increase their expectancy for success.  

The first session will be an opportunity for girls to introduce themselves and get to know one another, through games and activities. In these early sessions, there will be an opportunity for them to create their own cohorts.  

Using the data and results from these initial sessions, we will then look at our business partners to see if they are in line with what the participants are interested in. Then from there, see what the business would like to contribute, such as, but not limited to, a tour of their facility, a student-led presentation, or an experiment or activity. Cradle to Career Partnership will be observing the Up and Atom program once every two weeks and will be conducting focus groups with female STEM and CTE students, teachers, undergraduates, graduates, and employees to further develop and steer Up and Atom. 

Up and Atom will address 6th-12th grade behavioral, emotional, and cognitive needs in serval ways such as through expeditionary learning in terms of trips to STEM and CTE workplaces and mentorship opportunities. Students will be able to meet and learn with their mentor. Inquiry-based and Kinesthetic learning, otherwise known as hands-on learning, will help keep the program student led and maintain high participation. Emotional needs will be met by including in the curriculum Arizona Social and Emotional Learning Standards: self-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making, social awareness, and self-management.   

Our solution will impact the lives and futures of 6th-12th grade girls by allowing them a chance to experience and engage with STEM and CTE futures and possibilities. The data that we have gathered on high school graduation, post-secondary enrollment, and completion, guided us to understand the need for this solution. This data also includes our opportunity girls, which are between 16 and 24 unemployed, not in education, or not in training girls of color.  Our regular engagement with education, business, and community leaders shows that they, too, recognize the need for career exploration for 6th-12th grade girls of color in STEM. 

Our solution will also impact the others involved—the college students, adults and professionals who will assist in training the girls of color. They get to experience the teaching and growth of the girls. And at the very least, the population at large, which experiences the expanding of the girls of color knowledge base and growth leading to more options and participation in the workforce. 

We will be engaging with our target population of 6th-12th- grade girls in a multi-pronged approach. Attendance of Up and Atom participants will be cataloged. After every workshop, lesson, or activity there will be a survey to guide the trajectory of future activities.  

Up and Atom will, therefore, try to broaden girls' existing values and raise their expectations of achievement. Through games and activities, the first sessions will give the girls a chance to meet one another and introduce themselves. They will have the chance during these first sessions to develop as a cohort their own concept of STEM and produce a list of STEM topics they are interested in researching further. We will then look at the data and outcomes from these initial sessions that are consistent with what the participants are interested in by looking at our business partners.  

The next step is to determine what the company wants to offer, including a tour of their facilities, a talk by themselves and/or one of the girls, an experiment, or an activity. Every two weeks, Cradle to Career Partnership will observe the Up and Atom program. To further develop and direct Up and Atom, we will do focus groups with our STEM and CTE girls, teachers, undergraduates, graduates, and employees. 

Sixth through twelfth graders girls of color behavioral, emotional, and cognitive needs will be met by Up and Atom. The cognitive and behavioral needs of girls in grades 6 through 12 grades will be met in a variety of methods, such as through field visits to STEM and CTE companies and inquiry-based learning. Students will be able to meet and learn with their mentor. Inquiry-based and Kinesthetic learning, otherwise known as hands-on learning, will help keep the program student lead and maintain high participation.  

With these ambitious standards, high participation of the teens, adults, and professionals, the different focus groups, and the regular review of the program we expect it to be extremely successful.   

Cradle to Career Partnership and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona supports and serves 257,344 individuals in our community. Our Cradle to Career Partnership Program Director, Amber Schlak, engages educators and leaders from 5 local school districts and two post-secondary institutions in a collaborative partnership that discusses bi-monthly the current STEM education and workforce needs of our community. This network fosters collaboration between educational institutions, creates opportunities for shared learning, identifies factors and/or practice that promote equity in elementary to high school mathematics, and is seeking to build mathematic pipelines from middle school through high school to prepare students for college and career. Some of these collaborative ideas include equitable and targeted outreach and recruitment efforts for post-secondary success, including students and youth as co-developers for solutions, and diverse and equitable opportunities for youth and families to engage with post-secondary institutions in middle and high school.  

Cradle to Career Partnership has a strong relationship with local STEM businesses- (I.e., Caterpillar, Raytheon, Roche, IBM, etc.). All our STEM local businesses have emphasized an interest and need for more local women in their workplaces. These STEM local businesses are more than eager to collaborate on efforts towards improved gender equity in STEM. We already have a successful relationship with Marana Unified School District and would be able to pilot this program efficiently in one of their Title-1, low-income, schools. We will be meeting with local school district math and science directors to understand the current opportunities for girls in STEM programming and use their feedback to inform this program and our planning for future cohorts. We will also be meeting with local school district math and science teachers to understand what they notice and what data they have on their female students. This data from teachers will help in better understanding female performance, proficiency, and participation in the science and math classroom.  

In the program itself, girls of color will guide their learning and what aspects of science, engineering, technology, or mathematics they would like to explore. We will tap into girls’ funds of knowledge and their own existing interests and steer them toward STEM futures. This understanding will be obtained from female participants of the program sharing their thoughts through surveys and discussions.   

Since this program is a prototype, this program will be flexible to fit the needs of girls of color, behaviorally, cognitively, and emotionally. This will lead to girls of color deciding what places they would like to visit for expeditionary learning, such as what STEM workplaces or business would they like to tour, and what experiments or projects they would like to perform, and what subject matter they would like to process and learn strategies about.  

Students received Middle School Math Support-2,300

Youth received Re-Engagement Services-1,372

Students received Post-Secondary Support-3,023

Cradle to Career Partnership at United Way of Tucson and Southern American is applying to this challenge because our community needs our girls of color to be built up for STEM futures. The problems of gender inequity in STEM are felt from the workplace to the classroom. Our increased high school dropout rates for female students to lack of female post-secondary success in STEM, Pima County needs a solution that will help these young girls progress to brighter futures.   

The solution for promoting female students of color success in STEM is to increase their expectancy for success in STEM as well connecting to their existing values and interesting. Up and Atom is a program that will be student led and allows girls to be in the driver’s seat for their futures. Up and Atom’s target population will be low-income, girls of color. Girls in Up and Atom voices will be heard through surveys and discussions. This data will then be used to shape future sessions. Up and Atom will provide our girls expeditionary learning, inquiry-based learning, social-emotional learning, and mentoring. All four of these aspects of this program will ensure our female participants of color are engaged holistically. This includes cognitive, behavior, and emotional engagement.  

Up and Atom will be doing continual understanding and data collection about women of color and STEM. This data collection will be through focus groups, observations, and surveys. It is essential for this program to succeed in its mission to as many voices from STEM business leaders to STEM teachers and provide feedback and information to further develop this program.  

Cradle to Career Partnership at United Way and Southern Arizona is well positioned to tackle this challenge because of our strong connections and relationship to our community. These connections span various sectors from education, nonprofit, business, to government. We serve 257,344 individuals (about half the population of Wyoming) in our community here at Cradle to Career Partnership and United Way. We regularly engage with community leaders and foster collaboration amongst institutions. We and our network of partners work hard to ensure that every child has success in school and life, which in turn ensures the economic vitality of our community.  

Our Associate Vice President, Melissa Hernandez Ph.D., currently facilitates quarterly meetings with leaders from education, business, philanthropy, and government to work together to eliminate racial, ethnic, educational, and socio-economic disparities for students to achieve an educated, thriving, and equitable community. These leaders are across various sectors from education to business to nonprofit to government. Melissa maintains this governance structure of these leaders, while ensuring action plans are developed and implemented around core outcomes areas of focus that are critical for achieving goals. These goals include early grade literacy, reengagement of youth, post-secondary and workforce success. The leaders then share the needs of the community to their sites in order to remove barriers and shift policies and practices for equitable outcomes. 

Our program director, Amber Schlak currently engages educators and leaders from 5 local school districts and two post-secondary institutions in a collaborative partnership that discusses bi-monthly the current STEM education and workforce needs of our community. This group also looks at student level mathematics data, retention and recruitment data and support for teachers, and student interest surveys. This network fosters collaboration between educational institutions, creates opportunities for shared learning, identifies factors and/or practice that promote equity in elementary to high school mathematics, and is seeking to build mathematic pipelines from middle school through high school to prepare students for college and career. 

• Found your grant on your website. 

• Saw that it was for STEM for girls. 

• Decided to apply. 

Up and Atom approaches the issues of gender equity in STEM in a new and significant way. The program focuses on student and data driven experiences and mentorship connections. Participants will have the chance to share what they think and feel their cohort's trajectory should be through surveys, discussions, and voting. The purpose of using data this way is to provide a flashlight into the participants existing values and expected success in STEM. For example, if the cohort had a mutual agreement about their existing math anxiety, then their lessons would be tailored to fit more about data analysis. If that same cohort had an interest in softball, then they would look at their school’s softball team and create statistics for who has the highest batting average. Let’s say a cohort has a shared value that animals are interesting and fascinating, then the cohort would shift to researching and learning about biomimicry, and maybe even creating a blueprint or a model of a robot mimicking an animal of their choosing.  

This will catalyze broader, positive impacts from others in this space specifically STEM businesses and organizations. If they see that young girls have an interest in pursuing or exploring a future in STEM, perhaps this could lead to additional funding for STEM teachers in schools. If businesses and organizations partner with their potential female workforce in our program, they will want to make ensure a strong STEM foundation is laid early on in their schooling.  

Business and education sectors need to collaborate for their students and potential leaders to succeed.  Donald Super, psychologist, states that we have 5 life and career development stages. Super states that ages 15-24 is the time for experimentation and exploration of different skills and career pathways (Super, D. E. 1953). Erikson, a psychologist, states that ages 12-18 is where youth experiment with and develop their identities and roles. (Erikson, E. H. 1950). Both Donald Super’s and Erik Erikson’s theories on development match the importance of these years in identity and career exploration. 

Based on our learnings from our pilot cohort, our goal is to expand our program into an additional school in the spring and in the fall of 2024 with a 2% increase in enrollment at each site. The purpose of this is to fully refine the program’s curriculum to make sure it fully meets the holistic needs of our participants. This goal for next year will be achieved through strategic outreach and leveraging with our partners in the business and education sectors. This in turn will ensure Up and Atom remains flexible to meet the needs and interests of our participants. We will collect various forms of data like demographics, attendance, survey results, and impact using spreadsheets and other data software programs. The attendance data will help us see in what ways to increase the elasticity of the curriculum to meet the needs of any cohort regardless of demographics.  

In addition to Up and Atom’s impact goals for next year, the program aspires to see a 2% increase in our participants’ math and science’s performance in school for the quarter. Up and Atom hypothesizes that if girls participate in math and science learning experiences outside the classroom, there will be an increase of girls’ participation and performance inside the math and science classrooms. In a study by Ernest Bekkering and Ted Ward of Northeastern State University, concluded that student participation is an indicator for student performance (Bekkering, Ward, 2021).  Also, we anticipate an increase in girls' confidence in STEM activities as well as a 5% increase of girls wanting to pursue STEM as a future career according to their pre and post survey results.  

Our five-year plan includes expansion across Pima County in 3 school districts. Up and Atom aspires to reach 20-25 participants in each of these districts. We also want to support these girls from middle school through high school to create the pathway to their STEM future. We will do this through our mentorship model with businesses and intuitions ensuring long-term partnerships to support our participants.   

Up and Atom’s expectation is to authentically engage girls of color in co-designing solutions to achieve gender equity in STEM, so work is happening with them and not to them. During Up and Atom’s first to fifth year, we hope to shift narratives around expectations about girls and women. Both these goals can be further accomplished through building relationships with local STEM employers and employees to support continued collaboration with creating pathways for females in STEM.  

Up and Atom will measure progress of our impact goals using participant and mentor surveys at the start and end of the program and at the end of each session. These surveys will evaluate the program’s engagement and alignment to their needs. The surveys will also evaluate changes in knowledge, confidence and interests around STEM. Through various question types, i.e., open responses, Likert scales, and multiple-choice questions, we will obtain a more holistic understanding of the program for future classes. Surveying the mentors as well will help Up and Atom understand the needs and make positive changes.  

Another indicator Up and Atom will use is our participant’s individual performance in math and in science during the quarter participants were a part of the program. We hypothesize that participant’s participation in Up and Atom will in turn lead to an increase in participation in math and science classes for the participants. We will obtain their performance in individual math and science classes through self-evaluation surveys of the participants. Raising girls of color’s confidence and self-esteem when it comes to STEM is crucial for not only the success of Up and Atom, but also the success of our participants’ views of themselves in relation to STEM. 

Cradle to Career Partnership, anchored at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, expects the Up and Atom Program to have an impact on the problem with gender equity in STEM. We will co-design hands-on learning and mentorship opportunities centered around STEM with business partners, education partners, and girls of color. If Cradle to Career Partnership does this, then girls of color and their families will see and explore the STEM field. As a result, there will be a shift in the perception and knowledge about STEM careers and more girls of color will pursue this pathway.  

Up and Atom will address three key factors perpetuating gender STEM gaps as listed by the American Association of University Women in 2023. These three key factors include gender stereotypes, a lack of role models, and male-dominated cultures. Up and Atom will address these factors through mentorship opportunities, social-emotional learning, and having girls of color leadership and voice be at the center. By having participants paired with a woman mentor in the STEM field will disrupt the thought that STEM is a masculine discipline, and instead feature diverse gender identifies. Including girls of color’s voice at the helm of this program will help create a space and culture where their voice is amplified. We expect that this voice amplification will extend into the math and science classrooms of the girls as well.   

No, our solution is not tech-based.  

Melissa Hernandez,Ph.D.- Associate Vice President, Cradle to Career Partnership 

Kassondra Silva- Senior Director, Data and Impact, Cradle to Career Partnership  

Amber Schlak- Program Director, Cradle to Career Partnership 

Caroline Lewis- Program Manager, Cradle to Career Partnership 

Miles Chandler- Program Manager, Cradle to Career Partnership 

Part-time: 

Andrew Pieterick- Marketing Senior Manager 

Contractor: 

Kristin Davis, Grant Consultant 

Cradle to Career Partnership (C2C) launched in 2015 as a collective impact initiative to improve educational and career outcomes. In 2018, C2C launched the Middle School Math Change Network – a collaborative comprised of school district math administrators, non-profits working in educator and student support, and university staff. Over the last several years, C2C has leveraged the expertise and lessons learned from these partners to inform the development of Up and Atom that began this year. 

To ensure our makeup is representative of our local community, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona has made changes in hiring practices and interview processes to recruit a diverse group of potential candidates to join our team. All staff are required to participate in diversity, equity, and inclusion training annually. Our staff has ongoing professional development and training opportunities to engage in. We have diversified our offerings to offer in-person, virtual, and online opportunities. This is important because not only is our community diverse, but the youth and families that we serve are also diverse. It is important to United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona that we stay abreast of all issues related to equity and justice and how these issues impact our local community. 

In terms of demographics, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona has a nearly 50% female board of directors. For Cradle to Career Partnership, we have a 71% female staff. Over 70% of the directors and executives among United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona staff identify as female. 73% of all total staff United Way is female.  

For anyone, at United Way we are required to participate in seven hours of diversity, equity, and inclusion training a year. Some of these training topics include leveraging data to advance equity, nurturing a diverse, equity-minded board, and leveraging community engagement and mobilization advance equity. 

Cradle to Career Partnership is also a part of the national StriveTogether Network. One of the capacities for systems change in the StriveTogether network is equity. The StriveNetwork defines equity as a condition in which someone is identified does not determine their access, opportunities, treatment, or statistical outcomes in society. Cradle to Career Partnership understands that changing systems to improve the outcomes for every child drives our work. We craft our strategies to connect people to opportunity and eliminate structural barriers and disparities.  

Up and Atom will provide value to the Pima County’s middle grade girls of color through STEM career exploration and social emotional learning. Key social emotional learning activities will center around emotional regulation, positive affirmation, team building, and recognition. These activities will help build our participants’ self-esteem and confidence, as well as establish connections with their peers. The other type of key activities Up and Atom will be providing is STEM career exploration. These activities will center around competitions, demonstrations, field trips, workshops, mentorships and guest speakers. The STEM career exploration key activities will exhibit connections and experience to the STEM field that girls of color do not possess yet.  

Up and Atom’s format for implementation is through a gender equity month-long STEM intervention. We will be reaching our participants, who are girls of color, through site-based workshops at their school. Participants will obtain firsthand and hands-on experiences in STEM during trips to STEM businesses and institutions.  

Up and Atom will know that it is creating a social impact through thorough data collection and analysis. The data collected from Up and Atom will be in the form of surveys and discussions. This data will help us see and track our participants' confidence and engagement in STEM. 

Cradle to Career Partnership has a diverse portfolio of funding from a variety of sources and supporters both local and national. For instance, StriveTogether is a national network of 65 local communities striving to achieve equity and economic mobility. Cradle to Career Partnership met rigorous milestones to be a part of the StriveTogether network. Cradle to Career Partnership is grateful and proud to receive funding from StriveTogether since 2015, and we aspire to build a world where a child’s potential is not dictated by race, gender, ability or circumstance.  

Anchored at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona (UWTSA), Cradle to Career Partnership also receives support from United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. The UWTSA is an international network of nonprofits that serves 1,100 communities across 37 countries and territories worldwide. UWTSA has been impacting and instilling change in its community for over a century. 257,344 people are served annually at the UWTSA.  In addition to obtaining grant funding, Cradle to Career Partnership has received support from individual donors, workplace campaigns, and supporters such as the San Francisco Foundation, and Tucson Foundations.  

Cradle to Career Partnership will continue our existing strategic partnerships to receive feedback from our community to address the gaps in our community that our community needs funded. The current need that Cradle to Career Partnership is being alerted to is the need for STEM pathways for girls of color in middle and high school. Our community has stated that career exploration at an early age is essential for gender equity, STEM positions filled, and innovation to be achieved, and in turn beneficial to our business partners. Our existing strategic partnerships in the education and business sectors will be collaborating in Up and Atom.  

Cradle to Career Partnership will continue its partnership with United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, as well as be a part of the StriveTogether network.  

We will also explore new strategic partnerships to add to our existing strategic partnerships. The future needs of the Tucson and Southern Arizona community that Cradle to Career Partnership serves will be acknowledged by our data collection on equity disparities in education.   For the sharing of the data we have obtained, we will use this data as evidence of trends and gaps in our community that need to be addressed. Including and igniting new strategic partnerships will provide us will the necessary reach to address these future needs in our community. 

New and existing strategic partnerships will find this program to be essential in building up their diverse workforces in the future. This diverse STEM workforce will lead to innovation and equity in STEM.