STEM news

Female High School Students From Buffalo Traveling To Detroit For Success Looks Like Me Program. WIVB-TV Buffalo, NY (10/14, Alexander) reports 14 high school girls from Buffalo Public Schools are headed to Detroit as part of the Success Looks Like Me program, which aims to show girls and minorities that they can have successful careers in STEM fields. The students will visit General Motors headquarters in Detroit and other facilities to meet with people who work in STEM fields. Success Looks Like Me chairperson Jennifer Parker said, “We want the students of color to see other people look like them, whether they’re female, people of color, that are successful so they can know they can be successful also.” Texas Middle School Learns STEM Skills From Lego Robotics. The Rio Grande Valley (TX) Morning Star (10/15, Whitehead) reports Gutierrez Middle School in Harlingen, Texas has had a FIRST Lego League team for two years. The program teaches students STEM skills through challenges that require teams to program EV3 Bricks that can then be attached to Lego cars to complete obstacle courses and other challenges. The team is part of the district’s Competitive Edge Initiative that aims to boost interest in STEM fields among students. Oklahoma STEM Schools Triple Enrollment. The Muskogee (OK) Phoenix (10/15) reports CareerTech STEM academies in Oklahoma have tripled their enrollment from 5,000 to almost 15,000 during the past five years. The state program’s impact was “evident” after the top three teams competing in the At Project Lead The Way Engineering and Development State Competition and Showcase this summer all had members that attended Tulsa Technology Center’s STEM Academy. Sara Wright, the manager of the program, says the schools teach students STEM skills in “an environment that allows them to focus on their dreams.”