Development for a Model for Community College Leadership in Providing Opportunities for Disadvantaged High School Students in Science-based Careers

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The science/technology industries in and around the service area of Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC) have long created a demand for chemical technicians that greatly exceeded the number of graduates from our Chemical Technology program. The Chemical Technology program at our school has a thirty-two year track record in the preparation and training of its graduates for immediate employment as highly skilled technicians in applied chemistry/physics, as well as in providing an adequate foundation for students seeking bachelors' degrees. Employers, as well as faculty, recognize the program is rendered less effective than it should be by the many applicants who fail to qualify for the program as a result of inadequate high school preparation, especially those from inner city schools and minorities of immigrant backgrounds. Employers also reject many high school applicants seeking work, as they are grossly ill equipped academically to handle the workplace environment. We are attempting to remedy the problem by launching a high school science technology program based on Science in a Technical World, a NSF-funded project product from the American Chemical Society, with an alliance of local employers, the college, and the inner city high schools. Our goal is to develop a model by which two-year colleges can take a leadership role in outreach programs which encourage disadvantaged high school students to choose science and science-based technology careers. Our objectives are to assure that: (1) 180 high school students demonstrate a 10% increase in basic science and technical knowledge through participation in this program; (2) 20% of students completing this training program enter a two-year science-based technology program at a community college upon completion of their high school education, (3) six high school science teachers from the same schools complete a vocational applications of science knowledge and skills training program, and (4) all participating students complete an introduction to instrumentation and a math lab that prepares them for the industry work environment or a two-year college chemistry-based technology program.