LA Invents: Expanding Access to STEAM Innovation Pathways

K-12 STEAM education

Central LA East LA South LA West LA San Fernando Valley South Bay

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

Los Angeles County stands at a pivotal crossroads. According to LARC, only 16% of local high school graduates complete a four-year degree and secure living-wage employment—a stark indicator of a widening opportunity gap given LA’s STEM workforce is growing faster than the national average and holds promise for economic mobility. Currently, only 15% of students met the ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark in 2023, down from 20% in 2019. This gap is most pronounced in LA Title I schools, where students—primarily from underserved communities—are too often excluded from STEM pathways. Project Invent tackles this inequity head-on by equipping students with the skills, mindsets, and confidence to become inventors and pursue STEM futures. As Raj Chetty’s “Lost Einsteins” research shows, innovation could quadruple if low-income students, youth of color, and girls had equal access to opportunity. A more equitable, innovative future starts by investing in our students—starting now.

Project Invent addresses deep systemic gaps in education by empowering students to invent technology for social good. Our yearlong program trains middle and high school educators—particularly in underserved schools—to lead equitable, project-based STEAM learning. We address four key challenges:
(1) Student disengagement – by helping students design real inventions for real problems, making learning meaningful and relevant;
(2) Lack of representation in the STEM workforce – by rooting invention work in students' lived experiences and identities;
(3) Limited educator support – by providing robust, year-round professional development and mentorship, even for teachers without STEAM backgrounds;
(4) Workforce inequity – by equipping students with key future-ready skills in electronics, coding, AI, empathy, and human-centered design—and connecting them with diverse STEAM professionals who mentor and inspire them along their invention journeys.
Students collaborate with local community members to develop solutions to pressing challenges—from concussion detection devices to smart umbrellas for unhoused populations and anti-drink-spiking wearables. Since 2018, students have launched over 200 inventions, proving that with the right tools and support, every student can be an innovator and changemaker.

Project Invent is transforming LA into a home of empowered youth confident in their lived experience and tech skills to solve real community challenges. By revitalizing education through hands-on, purpose-driven learning, our program turns Title I schools into innovation hubs where students—over 85% students of color and 75% from low-income households—create inventions that improve their communities.
Students gain skills in coding, AI, and electronics while advancing civic engagement through partnerships with local individuals and groups. We also plan to collaborate with LA colleges to involve emerging engineers as facilitators, expanding impact and growing the next generation of educators. LA teachers gain tools to lead equitable, project-based learning, even without STEAM backgrounds.
Project Invent is not just building future technologists—it’s shaping empathetic innovators committed to improving LA from the ground up and creating lasting change that ripples outward, year over year.