STEMSTL Community of Practice: Cohort 3 Diverse and Generational Workforce Impact Application
Out-of-school-time STEM programs provide an important point of exposure for many St. Louis students to STEM concepts and project-based STEM learning. In early 2018, STEMSTL convened 150 community members to name and prioritize strategic activities needed to better strengthen the STEM learning ecosystem in St. Louis. Some of the strategic priorities identified were building a shared definition of out-of-school-time STEM programming and developing a commitment to learning, growing, and strengthening as antiracist, high-quality programs to best serve students.
In 2020, we launched our inaugural cohort--inclusive of 11 organizations--engaging 21 leaders in a 10-month community of practice. To learn more about this experience and impact, click here to access our Cohort 1 Impact Report.
Learning and seeing the impact of our community of practice, we launched our second cohort with 7 organizations gearing up to launch their summer experiences for youth after two years of pivoted programming due to COVID-19. Our second cohort completes their curricular engagement in August 2022.
In 2023, we are thrilled to launch the third cohort of our community of practice—with an evolved and necessary focus on organizations offering workforce development and career pathway programming and opportunities for youth and young adults. Given the continued intersection and systemic inequity of racism that has been further amplified by COVID-19, we know this intentional focus on organizations with this programmatic expertise can be transformative in providing access and opportunities for our youth and young adults across our Greater St. Louis community.
In this third cohort, we will seek 10 programs to participate in a 10-month community of practice. These organizations are committed to learning and progressing as antiracist, high-quality programs for youth--openly, honestly, and with a lens of constant learning and commitment to community, including this community of practice. Furthermore, participating organizational leaders have the agency to bring forth learnings and recommendations within their organizations--ensuring practicality and applicability of learnings and impact from the community of practice.
This application will take you 20-30 minutes to complete. We suggest reviewing the application and required documents first, compiling these documents, and then returning to the application to complete.
If you have any questions, please contact Adam Layne at Adam.Layne@StrategicCommunityPartners.org.