Shared Science

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND: SHARED SCIENCE WAS ESTABLISHED AS A NONPROFIT IN 2009 FOR THE EDUCATIONAL AND CHARITABLE PURPOSE OF CREATING AND DELIVERING STEM LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN (K-12). WE INTERVENE ON A LOCAL LEVEL, FOCUSING ON THE LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA METRO AREA AND 70,000 LBUSD STUDENTS. OUR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS ARE AT OVER 30 AREA SITES INCLUDING: BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF LB, CARVER, CHAVEZ, CLEVELAND, CUBBERLEY, GANT, HENRY, HUDSON, KING, LAFAYETTE, LONGFELLOW, LOS CERRITOS, LOWELL, MACARTHUR, MANN, MUIR, NAPLES, NEWCOMB, RANCHO LOS CERRITOS, ROBINSON, SALVATION ARMY, SATO, SMITH, ST. HEDWIG AND MORE -- DURING FY2019-20 WE SERVED OVER 1100 PARTICIPANTS AND GRANTED 310 SCHOLARSHIPS. WE ARE PLEASED TO REPORT THAT FEMALE STUDENT PARTICIPATION HAS INCREASED TO 41% (DATA COLLECTED 2015-20). THE EARLIER STUDENTS ARE INTRODUCED TO THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS, IN A FUN AND CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT, THE MORE LIKELY THEIR COMFORT WITH THESE TOPICS AS THEY BECOME MORE COMPLEX. OUR PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO CONTINUE ON A LIFELONG PURSUIT THAT UTILIZES THEIR STEM EDUCATION. WE KEEP SESSION FEES LOW AND OFFER SCHOLARSHIPS SO THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE ACCESSIBLE. AS A NONPROFIT, WE BRING TOGETHER FUNDING AND EQUIPMENT RESOURCES, IDENTIFY GIFTED ENGINEERS AND INSTRUCTORS, TAILOR THE BEST CURRICULUM AVAILABLE, AND THEN BUNDLE IT ALL TOGETHER TO BENEFIT AND CAPTIVATE THE IMAGINATIONS OF YOUNG STUDENTS. OUR MISSION IS "TO BUILD ON CHILDREN'S SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS LEARNING EXPERIENCES THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE, CREATIVE, AND PLAYFUL PROGRAMS, WHILE FOSTERING LEARNING COMMUNITIES". - SHARED SCIENCE ONGOINGLY ADAPTED TO THE PANDEMIC WITH COVID-19 RESPONSE PROTOCOLS AND TRAINING TO ENSURE STAFF AND STUDENT SAFETY- NEW COLLABORATION WITH YOUNG HORIZONS FOR PRE-K STUDENT ENGAGEMENT-CONTINUED COLLABORATIONS WITH ADVENTURES TO DREAM, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF LONG BEACH, SALVATION ARMY-INITIATED ONLINE ZOOM CURRICULUM INCLUDING PYTHON CODING-INCREASED OUTREACH VIA SOCIAL MEDIA-DELIVERED HYBRID ROBO-TECH FESTIVAL 2021 AND HANDS-ON TECH GIRLS WORKSHOP 2021-PARTICIPATED IN LONG BEACH GIVES FOR THE 3RD YEARPROGRAMS WE OFFERED IN 2020-21: EARLY ENGINEERING STUDENTS (K-5) BUILD AND TEST LEGO SIMPLE MACHINE MODELS, FOCUSING ON HOW WORK IS ACCOMPLISHED. CREATIVE COMPUTING STUDENTS (2-8) LEARN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS WHILE BUILDING SIMPLE GAMES AND ANIMATIONS. MAKE-IT FUN! STUDENTS (1-5) LEARN BASIC CIRCUITRY DESIGN, MAKER TINKERING, AND HOW TO ADD THEIR OWN CREATIVE FLAIR TO THEIR BUILDS. EARLY ROBOTICS STUDENTS (2-5) USE THE LEGO WEDO AND OZOBOT PLATFORMS AND AN IPAD INTERFACE TO LEARN DRAG AND DROP CODING. RAD-ROBOTICS STUDENTS (4-8) USE THE LEGO NXT AND EV3 MINDSTORMS AND VEWX ROBOTICS PLATFORMS. ELEMENTARY ROBOTICS PROGRAM SITE STUDENTS (4-5) LEARN/PREP ALONGSIDE THEIR TEACHERS TO COMPETE IN AN ANNUAL ROBOTICS SHOWCASE EVENT. FIRST LEGO LEAGUE JUNIOR TEAM MEMBERS (4-8) COMPETE IN AN ANNUAL REGIONAL ROBOTICS COMPETITION. FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION TEAM MEMBERS (9-12) BUILD A HUMAN-SIZED ROBOT TO COMPETE IN AN ANNUAL REGIONAL ROBOTICS COMPETITION.GOVERNANCE: SHARED SCIENCE BELIEVES THAT ALL STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO LEARNING OPPORTUNIIES THAT HELP THEM EXPLORE THEIR INTEREST IN ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MATHEMATICS, AND THE ARTS. TOWARDS THAT VISION, WE HAVE AN ACTIVE, WORKING BOARD THAT BOLSTERS OUR PART-TIME STAFF. IN OUR CURRENT FORMATION, EACH BOARD MEMBER BRINGS UNIQUE SKILLS AND CONNECTIONS TO OUR ORGANIZATION, HELPING WITH INSTRUCTION, RAISING FUNDS, PARTICIPATING IN STEM ED ADVOCACY, AS WELL AS INTRODUCING POTENTIAL NEW COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS, AND STRATEGIC PLANNING. SOME BOARD MEMBERS ARE WORKING TEACHERS AND ENGINEERS, SOME ARE PROFESSIONALS IN THE NON-PROFIT WORLD. NORMALLY WE EMPLOY BETWEEN 15-20 PART-TIME STAFF MEMBERS FOR PROGRAM DELIVERY AND OUTREACH. IN RESPONSE TO AVAILABLE WORK HOURS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE BOARD REDUCED OUR ANNUAL BUDGET AND STAFFING BY 50% AND INCREASED STAFF COMMUNICATION WITH WEEKLY UPDATE EMAILS AND BI-WEEKLY ZOOM MEETINGS, PLUS ADDITIONAL TRAINING SESSIONS. THIS ENSURES OUR STAFF STAYS ENGAGED AND IN TUNE WITH THE ORGANIZATION AND ITS NEEDS. SHORT TERM PLANNING AND ACTION EFFORTS HAVE HELPED THE ORGANIZATION REMAIN AGILE IN ITS RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT PANDEMIC AND RE-ESTABLISH REACH INTO THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE. FOR EXAMPLE, APPLYING FOR AND RECEIVING PPP LOANS AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY GRANTS, AS WELL AS INCREASING OUTREACH TO POTENTIAL COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS.