Science, Health, Football & Fun!

CDU has a history inspiring young men and women of color to pursue their health career aspirations. Incorporated in 1966 and a product outcome of the ’65 Watts Rebellion, CDU was founded as a nonprofit postgraduate medical school to meet the medical needs of residents. An estimated one-third of minority physicians practicing in LA County are graduates of CDU’s medical school or residency training programs.

CDU’s inspiration? Dr. Charles R. Drew (1904-1950), an African-American physician/surgeon who overcame long odds and racism. In this tradition, through SSA, CDU’s flagship pipeline program, thousands of youth have become SSA teachers, mentors, health professionals, and SSA parents are continuing the circle of inspiration, enrolling their children and grandchildren.

*A Parents Story*

I am considered “first generation” at King/Drew Medical Magnet High School of Medicine and Science. It opened in 1998 and is where I began my journey in what is now called STEM. My four children currently attend SSA II, and they enjoy learning about the human body, science, and math. SSA II has had a major impact on them -- I see the difference it has made in each of them.

I didn’t have an interest in STEMM until it was introduced to me at King/Drew High School. As students, we would go across the street to Martin Luther King Hospital as part of our curriculum. There, I was assigned to Emergency/Triage (ER), working hands-on with patients and doctors. In 2001, my junior year of high school, I was asked to be an SSA tutor, tutoring 3rd-4th-graders in Biology (also a great interest of mine). The students were very interested as well. Some subjects were fairly new to a lot of us, but being in SSA made you want to go into medicine.

Though I excelled in track and football, I could not continue playing. My parents wanted me to attend the magnet school and focus on my schooling, rather than sports. Today, I am still somewhat in the medical field serving as a Wildland Firefighter, where I also save lives.

I took this season off to focus on my children and their education. SSA was the first step. I knew that whenever I had kids, they would come to SSA. SSA II prepares youth for what’s ahead -- educationally, for careers, and life.

Students’ immersion in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math content

Student education pipeline

South LA

South Bay

SSA II outreach targets Watts-Willowbrook, Athens-Westmont, Compton, Inglewood, Hawthorne, and Carson. In 2018, SSA II served 478 youth (57.1% female; 42.9% male; 73% African-American; 14.3% Hispanic/Latino; 9.5% Other; 1.6% each, Asian/Pacific Islander and Caucasian), and 50% of our families had a child in the National School Lunch Program. The MLF serves over 500 LA County students a year (95% male, 5% female).

Timeline of Activities and Program Execution:

Sept-Dec 2019 - SSA II Human Anatomy and Physiology (Fall Session): Including instructional and hands-on learning activities on the Human Body, related medical specialties and specialists, tutoring, critical thinking and SAT test-taking skills. Particular focus will be on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and sports medicine.

Oct 26, 2019, Let's Move! Community Health Fair: This year’s event will serve 350 SSA II and MLF youth, their families, and the local community. The event includes a run-walk event, health screenings, physical and mental health and wellness resources, and a mini-farmers market. Significant focus will be on providing information and resources addressing youth sports safety, CTE/TBI, and education and professional careers in the health professions.

Sept-Dec 2019 (Date TBD): 40 SSA II and MLF youth (their parents) will attend the NFL's LA Chargers vs. Green Bay Packers football game or another local pro football game(based on ticket availability. As of 3/29, 29, 2019-20 NFL schedules were not published.

June 2020 (Date TBD): 350 youth (including SSA II youth) will participate in the MLF’s Annual Youth Football Camp in Long Beach, CA. SSA II will bring a new dimension to the camp by adding educational activities for parents and youth focusing on sports medicine and careers in the health professions, essential CTE and TBI information, and resources, and a resulting increase in the participation of females.

Each activity detailed in our Timeline of Activities and Program Execution will make measurable progress toward making LA the best place to LEARN (and PLAY) by:

*Supporting academic achievement through STEMM instruction

and hands-on experiences that include the interests and needs student and scholar-athletes

*Specifically impacting STEMM learning and academic achievement, for

under-represented youth of color, through academically rigorous instruction and hands-on learning

*Increasing high school student enrollment in SSA II

*Demonstrating real-world applications of STEMM

in sports

*Increasing youth/parental awareness of 1) student education

pipelines and 2) post-secondary education and health professional careers matching their interest and participation in youth sports

*Providing an educational pipeline to CDU and careers in

medicine and health professions

*Increasing opportunities for collaboration among local

STEMM academic pipeline and youth sports programs

The success of the Science, Health, Football & Fun! Project will be defined and measured using the following Project Outcomes and Performance Measures:

**Project STEMM Learning and Instructional Success Outcomes and Measures:

Outcome I: Students develop an interest in STEMM learning activities and physical activity/sports.

Performance Measure: % of students that participate in the learning activities (human anatomy and physiology session, the football camp and Let's Move! event)

Performance Indicator: 70% of students participate in the learning activities (human anatomy and physiology session, the football camp and Let's Move! event)

Outcome II: Students develop capacities for productive engagement in STEM learning activities.

Performance Measure: % of students who increase their knowledge of STEMM as measured by pre/post assessments

Performance Indicator: 90% of students increase their knowledge of STEMM as measured by pre/post assessments

Outcome III: Students come to value the goals/importance of STEMM and physical activity/sports in everyday life.

Performance Measure: % of students who increase their knowledge of STEMM, health care careers, physical activity, and sports as measured by pre/post assessments

Performance Indicator: 90% of students increase knowledge of STEMM, health care careers, physical activity, and sports as measured by pre/post assessments

Outcome IV: Students develop an interest in college attendance and a major in STEMM including sports medicine or kinesiology.

Performance Measure: % of eligible 12th-grade participants that apply to a college or university, measured by the College Readiness Checklist.

Performance Indicator: 90% of eligible 12th-grade participants apply to a college or university as measured by the College Readiness Checklist.

**Project Measurable Progress and Collaboration Performance Measures and Success Indicators:

I - Performance Measure: % increase in awareness of 1) student education pipelines, 2) the education pipeline to and through CDU to careers in medicine and health professions, and 3) post-secondary education and health professional careers matching their interest and participation in youth sports, measured by pre and post-program parent and youth surveys

Success Indicator: 70% increase in awareness

II - Performance Indicator: % increase in overall SSA II enrollment by September 2019

Success Indicator: 15% increase in overall SSA II enrollment by September 2019

III - Performance Measure: % increase in SSA II high school enrollment by February 2020

Success Indicator: 40% increase in SSA II high school enrollment by February 2020

IV - Performance Measure: % of students that participate in both SSA II and MLF activities, by June 2020

Success Indicator: 40% of project youth participate in both SSA II and MLF activities, by June 2020

V - Performance Measure: By March 2020, SSA II and MLF will increase opportunities for collaboration among local STEMM academic pipeline and youth sports programs, by organizing a STEMM and Youth Sports collaborative, targeting LA County SPA 6 youth organizations

Success Indicator: By March 2020, Two (2) SPA 6 youth organizations will join the collaborative.

The core of our program is driven by quantitative assessment data obtained from each student. Students will be evaluated at the beginning of the 8-week Human Anatomy and Physiology STEMM-focused session to gauge their subject content knowledge. Upon completing the eight-week programmatic session, students are given a post-test that is directly aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards curriculum in which they were actively engaged. (Annually, SSA II includes two other 8-week sessions; Marine Biology and Plant Life, Physical Science and Engineering).

The assessment data is analyzed and used to determine which students may need additional educational support (i.e., weekly tutoring services). Also, the assessment process provides SSA II staff a benchmark of student capacity and knowledge on the subject matter. Qualitative assessments are also conducted using student and parent surveys, student research, and presentations.