By Christine Imbs
No truer words were ever spoken. Just ask LaKisha McPike a graduate of the Saint Louis Science Center’s Youth
Exploring Science (YES) program.
LaKisha started with the program when she was 14 years old. Today she is attending the University of Arkansas studying molecular biology. If she succeeds, she’ll automatically be enrolled in medical school. She may also get a seat on the Science Center board.
“The day LaKisha left for college she walked up to me and said, ‘I have one goal. I want to be on your board.’ I told her the minute she’s Dr. LaKisha she’s got it,” says Doug King, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Science Center. “And to think we once measured success by whether or not we could get the kids’ heads off the table. Now so many of our kids have graduated from college, I can’t keep track.”
YES was created 11 years ago as a summer jobs program targeting 14-year-olds from low-income families. The kids were actually hired by the Science Center for four years and paid an hourly wage. During this time they learned good work habits, how to interact with a diverse group of people, presentation skills and of course, a little science. The goal was to give kids who might otherwise fall between the cracks choices in life.
“When we started this program I honestly had no clue where it was going,” King says. “I saw it as a summer jobs program for underserved kids who hadn’t been very involved in science. I thought they’d stay together for four years and eventually a couple would go off to college. Last year 34 students out of 35 went to college. So it’s turned out pretty cool.”
It’s turned out so cool that the program is experiencing a metamorphosis of sorts from a summer jobs program to a college prep program. It’s a change both the kids and their parents are embracing, even though the pay has been cut.
“We can no longer pay them, but we do offer them a stipend. How much depends on what year they are in and how much they are accomplishing,” King says. “It’s more like life. There’s a specific set of things they have to learn each year and when they demonstrate that they’ve learned those things, then they get more than if they don’t.”
Diane Miller, who developed and runs YES, says the original model was difficult for anyone to continue supporting, especially in these economic times.
“We just told the parents that we wanted to continue the program, but could no longer pay the kids an hourly wage,” she says. “They said, great. One student even wrote me saying, ‘this means you will only be in the program if you’re serious about being successful.’ So they know this is about their future and working together so they can be successful.”
Miller says they plan to focus on helping the kids prepare for their SATs. The SATs are especially critical for students attending
a high-density school that may not be achieving right now. Even with good
grades, there’s the possibility that their accomplishment may be considered less than it really is.
“It may be thought that the classes weren’t rigorous enough,” she explains. “But if they also have a great SAT score, well that’s standard across the nation as far as managing information.”
Miller says they’re also putting an emphasis on making the kids technology savvy, something that is vital if they are going to succeed.
“These kids have had limited exposure to computers, so we’re giving everyone a computer of their own,” she adds. “It’s a pretty basic one. When they go to college we’ll invest in something better for them.”
Along with computer experience, the kids are also gaining some valuable lessons about social networking.
“Social networking is a big part of the world kids live in today. So we have real conversations with them about etiquette as well as the dangers. We explain to them that websites like Facebook and MySpace are your permanent record,” Miller explains. “Whatever you put out there is for the world to see. So before you do anything ask
yourself, do I really want to say that? Do I really want that associated with me for the rest of my life?”
Social networking websites are also
being used in some surprising ways. One example is Instructables.com, a web-based documentation platform developed by MIT graduates. It’s a place where individuals share projects as well as learn from and collaborate with others.
“When the kids are involved with a technical project, we have them write instructions for it, then we submit the instructions to this website for review,” says Miller. “Here they’re being critiqued by some very technically literate adults who critique it as if it came from adults, not high school kids. It gives us an idea of not only what the kids know, but what they understand.”
Even Facebook is being used as a teaching tool. With a little guidance from some English teachers, the site is helping the students improve their communication skills.
“You don’t think of teaching communications with a Facebook page,” says King. “But it’s been fascinating to see the progress in their writing skills. Last year we even won an award at the International Science Center Conference for it.”
King says with all the changes that have occurred with the YES program, the next step is to institutionalize it.
“It’s a horrible word, I know. But we’d like to put the program on sounder financial footing,” he explains. “We’re renting right now, but eventually we’d like to have the program on a permanent site closer to us and to really develop a faculty. In our minds we’ve started calling it the Institute for Science Learning. I know it sounds a little grandiose, and we’re a little ways from that. But that’s where we’d eventually like to go.”
