Social Movements and Community

California-Based Nonprofit Pairs College Fellows with K-12 Learners of Color to Boost STEM Access and Success

California-Based Nonprofit Pairs College Fellows with K-12

Calculus Roundtable, a Northern California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing educational equity by addressing disparities in STEM education for underserved youth, today announced an ambitious new initiative that will help more students of color across California succeed in critical science and math skills. In collaboration with student success and insights nonprofit InsideTrack, the organization will work to train and certify its team of Diversity in STEM Fellows on best practices in one-on-one success coaching as they prepare to provide coaching and peer mentoring to K-12 students of color in the Bay Area.

"As our economy and society become increasingly driven by technology, demand for STEM talent is booming. That said, too many students of color are locked out of opportunity in many of the fastest growing and high-wage fields that require STEM credentials and skills," said Jim Hollis, director and founder of Calculus Roundtable, which serves about 2,000 K-12 students of color annually." This is about tapping into the skills and leadership of college students who can inspire the next generation of STEM talent that our colleges, communities and society need."

Nationally, nearly a quarter of the U.S. workforce is employed in STEM occupations, but Hispanic workers represent just 15% of the total STEM workforce in 2021, and Asian and Black workers were 10% and 9%, respectively. According to data compiled by the Education Trust, 2 in 5 Black and Latino students who aspire to enroll in college rank STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) courses as their top choice. However, just 3 percent are enrolled in Advanced Placement STEM courses.

To help close this gap, Calculus Roundtable recruits and trains Diversity in STEM Fellows—current college students majoring in STEM fields at California colleges and universities—who mentor and coach serve over 2,000 Bay Area young people in elementary, middle and high school each year. Fellows support young learners by providing tutoring, mentorship and one-on-one coaching in after-school programming focused on math and science.

The collaboration with InsideTrack is designed to build their capacity and help the Fellows support and mentor high-potential students by training them on a framework which facilitates empowering conversations that support others in making well-informed decisions.

A team of expert coaches and trainers from InsideTrack will work with Calculus Roundtable's staff to deliver the highly-regarded CLEAR Microcredential program, which trains individuals and teams on the essentials of success coaching to help learners make informed decisions, even in challenging or heightened situations. Diversity in STEM Fellows will participate in four 90-minute training rotations, followed by one-on-one leadership coaching, asynchronous reflection exercises, and a final skill demonstration through role-play with a certified InsideTrack Coach and Trainer.

"Breaking down barriers to STEM access and success has to start with listening to students. We need to understand their stories and the unique strengths and aspirations that they bring to the table," said Ruth Bauer White, president of InsideTrack. "This collaboration is about harnessing the power of student-centered coaching to break down barriers to STEM access and success. We're proud to support the Calculus Roundtable in this work."

Since its founding, Calculus Roundtable has supported over 25,000 students in a myriad of school districts, connecting college students to serve as peer coaches and mentors with high-potential students and incarcerated youth.

About InsideTrack

InsideTrack is a mission-driven nonprofit that fuels positive change by empowering and advancing all learners to achieve their educational and career goals through the transformative power of coaching. We help people get the education they need to enhance well-being, create opportunity and secure meaningful employment — ultimately facilitating economic and social mobility. Since 2001, we have served over 3.1 million learners, partnering with more than 350 institutions and organizations to directly improve enrollment, retention, completion, and career advancement – tailoring our coaching outcomes to fit the needs of our partners and the learners they support. Our coaching methodology is evidence-based and research-confirmed, supporting all types of learners at every stage of their journey — especially those who face systemic barriers to postsecondary success. We are a catalyst for transformational impact, ultimately empowering learners and the organizations who serve them.

About Calculus Roundtable

The Calculus Roundtable is a non-profit organization dedicated to opening alternative pathways to math and science for students; particularly for students of color. CR works at all levels of the education system to provide access and advocacy to issues that affect students' access to high quality curriculum by emphasizing the importance of technology in gaining access to an entire world of learning. Currently, the Calculus Roundtable supports programs in 56 school districts, 7 county offices of Education, 7 community college districts, and several state and municipal agencies across California.

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Fundraising, Nonprofit Management

American Camp Association Receives $45.5 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to Strengthen Character Development Programs for Young People

PR Newswire | February 02, 2024

The American Camp Association® (ACA) is honored to announce that Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded ACA a $45,535,623 grant to support the creation of a new, multiyear initiative to grow, improve, and celebrate character development at camps across the United States. Character at Camp is an innovative initiative anchored in the belief that summer and year-round camp programs provide an unparalleled opportunity to promote the character development of young people. While camps vary greatly in their mission, size, activities, programming, and location, many are run with an intrinsic focus on youth development and character-building skills and traits. ACA's recent National Camp Impact Study demonstrated that camp experiences support social connectedness among youth and the development of skills and traits such as perseverance, responsibility, and the willingness to try new things. This study also found that these skills and traits last over time. Individuals who attended camp as children demonstrate these skills and traits throughout academic environments and well into their early careers. For more than a century, character development has been foundational to the camp experience, as each camp distinctively offers a variety of opportunities to develop important character skills and traits. Camps provide young people with experiences in less-distracting settings, often surrounded by nature, that can help support character development through social interactions with peers and counselors, time for reflection and other activities. For example, campers learn responsibility as they help set tables in the dining hall, engage in leadership when guiding groups during hikes, and practice empathy when they support fellow campers who are missing home. In today's world, the benefits of building character skills and traits such as gratitude, kindness, creativity, curiosity, perseverance, resiliency, empathy, courage, and teamwork could not be more important. The Character at Camp initiative will be conducted during the next six years. ACA will make available in-person and virtual training opportunities, educational tools, and other resources to camps to strengthen, expand, or establish character development programs at the more than 15,000 year-round and summer camps across the US. As a direct result of this new initiative, ACA will invite camp leaders to participate in educational and peer-learning opportunities, networking, training, other experiences to learn how to help develop character skills and traits at camp. ACA will work with camp professionals, youth-development experts, and others to create new educational resources, training, and assessment tools to provide camps with opportunities to engage in this important initiative. Starting in 2025, all eligible nonprofit camps will have the opportunity to apply for competitive one-, two-, or three-year grants to support their character development programs. Eligible organizations will be able to apply for funding in amounts ranging from $50,000 to up to $300,000 based on the length of the grant period. Funds may be used for staffing, training, curricula, assessment, communications, and/or outreach and partnership efforts to support camps' specific goals related to character development. The initiative will support a broad range of camps serving young people from varied backgrounds and experiences, including under-resourced and underrepresented youth, as well as provide funding for developing character-based programming that is culturally relevant and values the diverse perspectives of youth and families. "We are deeply grateful for Lilly Endowment's support of ACA and our shared commitment to support camps across the country with the funding, tools, resources, and education to expand and prioritize character development programs," said Tom Rosenberg, ACA president/CEO. "This Character at Camp initiative recognizes the diverse needs of children and youth. We know camp experiences build a world of belonging and growth, and we're excited to engage camps as they work to strengthen their character development programs." "Lilly Endowment's founders firmly believed that developing the character of young people was vital to the future of communities and our country, and they supported many efforts to understand how character is formed," said N. Clay Robbins, Lilly Endowment's chairman and CEO. "For decades, well run camps have had a positive impact on the character development of thousands of campers. We believe, with the commitment, leadership, and expertise of ACA, its Character at Camp initiative can meaningfully enhance and expand character development from a variety of perspectives and in a diverse array of young people throughout the nation."

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TIFIN Give expands its reach as a leading technology powered philanthropy platform for wealth enterprises

PR Newswire | February 01, 2024

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