Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK)
There is considerable national concern about America’s current and future global competitiveness, arising out of the country’s declining competitiveness in STEM fields. That concern has reached the highest levels of government, as exemplified by President Obama’s Change the Equation initiative, a CEO-led effort to dramatically improve STEM education. A significant contributing factor to the decline of American students in STEM fields has been the historical stagnation of the number of African American graduates of engineering programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). NSBE's goal is to increase significantly the number of African American Engineers and, along the way, to expand the pipeline for African Americans in STEM.
About You
About You
First Name
Conan
Last Name
Louis
About Your Organization
Organization Name
National Society of Black Engineers
Organization Website
Organization Phone
703-549-2207
Organization Address
205 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314
Organization Country
United States, VA
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, DC
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK)
What change do you want to bring to the world?
There is considerable national concern about America’s current and future global competitiveness, arising out of the country’s declining competitiveness in STEM fields. That concern has reached the highest levels of government, as exemplified by President Obama’s Change the Equation initiative, a CEO-led effort to dramatically improve STEM education. A significant contributing factor to the decline of American students in STEM fields has been the historical stagnation of the number of African American graduates of engineering programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). NSBE's goal is to increase significantly the number of African American Engineers and, along the way, to expand the pipeline for African Americans in STEM.
What are the primary activities of your project?
Approxi The Summer Engineering Experience for Kids Academy, (SEEK), is the National Society of Black Engineers’ (NSBE) premiere solution to the marked underrepresentation of African American students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. The free, three week summer program is a STEM pipeline designed to expose African American children to STEM fields as early as the third grade and through the twelfth grade. Of note, this exposure is provided by utilizing NSBE members, who are young, Black, undergraduate and graduate collegiate students, majoring in STEM fields. The SEEK Academy is designed to be a fun and engaging educational experience, led by NSBE engineering students and technical professionals dedicated to pursuing professional excellence and giving back to the community. The SEEK Academy utilizes a hands-on design curriculum developed by the International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Campers work in teams, using their knowledge to solve problems and create products while discovering the underlying math and science principles involved in these processes. Each week, the campers take on a new project, culminating in a presentation and design competition that all parents are invited to attend.
Hallmarks of the program are the public and private partnerships that NSBE has been able to build with local school districts and the corporate community. The program has enjoyed widespread corporate support and, most recently, private foundation support.
mately 200 words left (1600 characters).
What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
SEEK represents an exceptional approach in that it is the largest engineering camp targeted toward African American children in the United States. It is also exceptional in the level of parental involvement that it engenders. Attendance is mandatory at the parent orientation held at the start of each camp and the enthusiasm the event generates among parents is unparalleled. The program targets student growth specifically in the area of their consideration of engineering as a viable career option. The curriculum, designed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and adapted from its award-winning “A World in Motion” program, is grounded in sound educational research and based on best practice, as well as national academic standards. It incorporates the four major domains which have been shown to produce positive academic results with African American students: 1) standards based 2) active task engagement 3) authenticity and 4) assessment.
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.
Although there are nearly 700,000 minority high school graduates in America each year, less than 30,000 graduate with the requisite science and math courses and apply to one of the 325 schools of engineering in the United States. Of these, less than 17,000 are admitted to engineering schools, and more than half change their majors by sophomore year. As a consequence, a mere 3,200 African American engineering students receive baccalaureate degrees annually out of 73,000 total graduating seniors. This number (which has not changed significantly over the past two decades) represents a yield of less than five percent, while African Americans comprise roughly 13 percent of the U.S. citizenry.
Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
SEEK is the brainchild of NSBE’s Executive Director, Dr. Carl B. Mack. It is a direct reflection of his leadership, which is characterized by a passionate, enthusiastic and unrelenting commitment to the mission of the organization -- “to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.” The program grew out of his drive to increase significantly the membership of the organization (which he did, from around 12,000 when he took the helm in 2005 to almost 35,000 today). He identified the development and expansion of the pipeline for Black engineers as a critically important element of both the realization of the mission of the organization and the growth of the membership. He therefore set out to position the organization to directly affect the development of that pipeline from elementary grades through college. The program began with a focus on grades 3 through 5 and 6 through 8; and the next step will be to create and implement an intervention targeted through grades 9 through 12.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
From the outset of the SEEK program, NSBE has engaged the services of Dr. Grace Carroll of Carroll Consulting for the purpose of program evaluation. Dr. Carroll has traditionally employed outcome as well as process assessment to provide feedback to NSBE on the operations and impact of the SEEK program on mentors and students. She utilizes NSBE/SAE developed pre- and post-tests of students; mentor program assessments and weekly reflections; parental surveys and informal staff debriefing discussions for the collection of evaluation data. Data from mentors regarding their mentees’ progress and involvement is collected weekly and transmitted directly to Dr. Carroll via survey monkey. Consequently, engagement data are available weekly. Dr. Carroll’s work reflects the following results:
• 81% of students indicated their participation in SEEK Camp made them more interested in engineering
• 98% of parents indicated they would send their child to another SEEK Camp
• 100% of parents would recommend the SEEK Camp to others
• 80% of parents said their child seemed excited to attend SEEK camp each day
• All grades experienced a greater knowledge and understanding of what engineers
do.
• There was an expansion of vocabulary focusing on engineering curriculum use
• The program helped students successfully improve their knowledge of the specific science and math standards practiced
• Parents indicated that the students gained self-confidence
• Parents indicated that the exposure to African American role models was a
positive impact for their children
How many people have been impacted by your project?
1,001- 10,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
More than 10,000
How will your project evolve over the next three years?
SEEK is on a path toward expansion and replication nationally. The program continues to gain in popularity and has generated such excitement that the organization has decided to create three new positions dedicated exclusively to the development, implementation and expansion of SEEK, including a Director of SEEK Programs and two SEEK Program Coordinators. We will be growing from four SEEK camps in 2011 to eight n 2012, ten in 2013, and 12 in 2014. We are also seeking (and have already begun raising funds) to conduct a full-blown, national evaluation of the program. Finally, we are also in the process of creating a SEEK Mentor Training Institute, which would enable us to bring all SEEK mentors to a central location for a week of intensive training.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
The only real barrier to the success of SEEK is a lack of funding. However, NSBE has recently hired a new Chief Development Officer who has already succeeded in diversifying the organization's fundraising effort, having garnered a $100,000 grant from the S.D, Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and a $588,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to support SEEK. We fully expect that this success will continue going forward.
Tell us about your partnerships
NSBE has established successful relationships with the Oakland Unified School District, Columbus City Schools, STEM Columbus, The Ed Council, Friendship Public Charter School in Washington, DC, San Diego State University, the San Diego Urban League, the Oakland chapter of 100 Black Men, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Each of these entities has provided resources of one kind or another to help make SEEK both a reality and a success either locally or nationally.
Of course, an essential partnership has been that with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), which has provided its award winning A World in Motion curriculum free of charge. SAE has also worked with NSBE in the development of pre-and post-tests, and in ensuring that the curriculum continues to develop and rotate in order to sustain the interest of returning students.
SEEK has also enjoyed tremendous financial support from both the public and private sectors. To date, the program has received funding from the following:
• Battelle
• S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation
• General Electric
• Google
• Intel
• Bank of America
• Qualcomm
• Clorox
• Mead Westvaco
• Cummins
• CSECO
• U.S. Coast Guard
• U.S. Navy
• Office of Naval Research
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
More than $1 million
Explain your selections
Foundations:
S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation,
Hattie M. Strong Foundation,
Corporations
• Battelle
• S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation
• General Electric
• Google
• Intel
• Bank of America
• Qualcomm
• Clorox
• Mead Westvaco
• Cummins
• CSECO
Federal Government
• U.S. Coast Guard
• U.S. Navy
• Office of Naval Research
Regional Government
Local School Districts (see partnernships above)
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
Adding dedicated staff, quasi-experimental design evaluation study, and creating the Mentor Training Institute.
Partnerships and Accountability
Please tell us more about how your partnership was formed and how it functions. What specific role does each partner play? What unique resources does each partner bring to the initiative?
In each city NSBE has been successful in identifying a local partner (usually a local school district) to provide the following with their own resources:
• Facilities for the SEEK Academy.
• Meals for the students, including breakfast, lunch and a snack
• On-site nurse
• Transportation for mentors from housing to program site
• AV/IT support for orientation and competition Fridays
• Administrative support as needed
These partnerships have served two purposes: (1) to minimize the cost of the program to NSBE; and (2) to create a sense of local ownership in the program. For these reasons, NSBE expects to continue engaging in these partnerships going forward
Of course, an essential partnership has been that with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), which has provided its award winning A World in Motion curriculum free of charge. SAE has also worked with NSBE in the development of pre-and post-tests, and in ensuring that the curriculum continues to develop and rotate in order to sustain the interest of returning students.
How are you building in accountability for students' successful STEM learning outcomes? Please provide a summary and examples.
Two ways: (1) We insist on parent involvement. Parents are required to attend a mandatory Parent Orientation, during which we lay out expectations. (2) We are working with two principals from the Oakland Unified School District to identify ways of ensuring continuity from the 3-week SEEK summer experience to the academic year. We hope to be able to incorporate these strategies into the SEEK model next year.
Needs
Investment, Human Resources/Talent, Marketing/Media, Research/Information, Pro-bono help (legal, financial, etc.), Innovation/Ideas, Mentorship.
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add needs that may not be listed.
.
Offers
Mentorship.
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add offers that may not be listed.
Traditionally, each SEEK academy consists of three weeks of summer learning, competition and fun for 300 local youth of all backgrounds who are engaged in interactive engineering activities. NSBE brings a unique feature to the design of SEEK by providing each academy with 50 NSBE student mentors -- collegiate or graduate engineering students (in their twenties) who are NSBE members, and dedicated to pursuing professional excellence and giving back to the community. Serving as instructors and youthful role models, the mentors receive a week of intensive training, a travel reimbursement, a weekly stipend, and lodging and meals at a local university.
 | 93 weeks ago Conan Louis updated this Competition Entry. |
| 93 weeks ago Conan Louis updated this Competition Entry. |
| 93 weeks ago Conan Louis updated this Competition Entry. |
| 93 weeks ago Conan Louis submitted this idea. |
