STEAM Regional Middle School Science Curriculum

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Barriers to participation in STEAM education range from socio-economic factors to lack of institutional facilities and support to students having no role models in STEAM programs. Underserved students are disproportionately affected. CWC LA’s framework for education seeks to address these barriers through providing curriculum, teachers and facilities that appeal to and support all students, including those in underrepresented communities.
Our focus in creating a regional curriculum is two-fold: 1) strengthening our STEAM MS Science Curriculum within a growing and diverse charter school system that reflects the socio-economic, cultural and racial diversity of Los Angeles; and 2) building a STEAM-based MS Science program that brings in teachers, systems, technology and career pathway models to help students realize long-term success and are aligned with priority job sectors in Los Angeles County. Recognizing and Overcoming Barriers to Participation, 2022

CWC Silver Lake will build a robust STEAM curriculum for MS Science that gives our students the framework for long-term success in STEAM careers. NCSES’s 2023 report, Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023, outlines the increase in presence of and median pay for women, minorities and those employed with at least one disability in STEM jobs since 2011, relative to those in non STEM jobs. CWC Silver Lake MS will lead these efforts through developing a model STEAM MS Science Curriculum for all students, current and future, that incorporates cutting edge technology classes, after school programs and facilities to serve our students that are reflective of high priority, high-paying labor sectors in Los Angeles County and neighboring areas. This curriculum will incorporate new faculty positions specifically for the STEAM program. In school courses include robotics, and the first MS CTE Pathway is ICT/DM that offers college and career exploration in one of the most cutting edge technical sectors in California. We seek to develop the pathway with a lens on equity in bringing more traditionally underrepresented students into technology courses through ongoing collaboration with regional partners such as LA Pierce College and the CTE Advisory Committee. Almost 61% of CWC Silver Lake students are low-income and special outreach attention will be given to students with disabilities, English Learners, homeless individuals, and foster youth.

Creating a new STEAM MS Science Curriculum will help underserved students in LA County find long-term success in key, dynamic industries within their home area. Within the curriculum are both technology classes such as robotics and a new CTE Pathway in ICT/DM which focuses on a high value, priority industry in LA and is replicable for other schools within CWC LA and beyond. Evaluation metrics will ensure that student success is tracked throughout the process and any issues/barriers are identified and addressed as the program matures. Occupations in the LA basin presenting well-paying jobs with paths to upward mobility in this area include, for example, video game designers (16% projected growth in CA to 2028 and median wages of $77K/year); and software developers (29% growth/ median $110K). These jobs in LA pay higher average wages than in any other region in the state with LA considered to be the hub for ICT/DM jobs and careers in California.

CWC LA has annual evaluations and testing in place to measure the impact of classes and curriculum on our students, including subgroup-level data, and track the progress of students relative to other school systems and student testing statewide. In addition, CWC Silver Lake will create systems and processes to collect student-level data for those participating in CTE pathways and WBL, conduct formative and summative data collection and analyses to support and evaluate the program, including, to the extent possible, demographic data used to evaluate progress in closing equity gaps in program access and completion, and earnings of underserved demographic groups. Data will be used by administrators and board members, community colleges, and regional industry partners to support and evaluate what is working in articulation and areas for improvement to provide maximum support for students in disproportionately impacted groups.