A Track 1 Proposal for Creating a Pipeline for Diversity in the Geosciences: A Sustainability-based Approach

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。 伍斯特州立学院（WSC）正在与马萨诸塞州伍斯特市的当地学区合作，通过创建一个综合管道来吸引不同层次的学生，以增加本科地球科学课程的多样性。在这个地区，35.7%的学生是拉丁美洲人，12.9%是非洲裔美国人，7.8%是亚裔美国人，这使得该计划对代表性不足的人口产生了特别的影响。该项目的关键是与伍斯特职业技术高中环境技术计划的战略合作伙伴关系。该项目将通过一系列相互关联的课程计划，实习和WSC与周边学校之间的促进协议建立这些联系。 第一项倡议是为中学教师制定一项课程充实计划，这是马萨诸塞州唯一一个将地球科学作为课程明确组成部分的公共教育级别。我们项目的下一阶段是建立一个实习项目，将伍斯特的少数民族青年与基于可持续发展的组织和企业配对。 我们与伍斯特马萨诸塞州奥杜邦、马萨诸塞州彼得舍姆的哈佛森林、地区环境理事会和有毒土壤破坏者等青年团体合作开发了这一项目。 高中实习计划的高潮将是鼓励成功的实习生利用WSC和地区高中之间的衔接协议，使他们能够参加地球科学的大学课程。 接触大学环境和获得大学学分将给这些学生一个显着的经验和经济优势，他们应该选择追求更高的学位。目的是建立一个从公立学校到WSC地球科学计划的途径。谁从伍斯特州立大学毕业的大多数学生毕业后留在该地区，所以这一奋进，我们将产生毕业生谁将继续在周围社区的中学教地球科学，进一步巩固这些机构的关系。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Worcester State College (WSC) is working with the local school district in the City of Worcester, MA, to increase diversity in undergraduate geoscience programs through the creation of an integrated pipeline for engaging students at a variety of levels. In this district, 35.7% of the students are Latino, 12.9% are African-American, and 7.8% are Asian-American giving the program particular impact on under-represented populations. Key to this project is a strategic partnership with the Worcester Vocational Technical High School Environmental Technologies program.The project will establish these connections through a series of interlinked curricular programs, internships, and facilitation agreements between WSC and surrounding schools. The first initiative is to develop a curriculum enrichment program for middle schools teachers, the only level in public education where the geosciences are an explicit part of the curriculum in Massachusetts. The next phase in our project is to establish an internship project that will pair minority youth in Worcester with sustainability based organizations and enterprises. We have partnered with Worcester Mass Audubon, Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA, the Regional Environmental Council and youth groups like Toxic Soil Busters to develop this program. The culmination of the high school internship program will be to encourage successful interns to take advantage of an articulation agreement between WSC and area high schools that will allow them to take college level courses in the geosciences. Gaining exposure to the college environment and earning college credit will give these students a significant experiential and economic advantage should they chose to pursue an advanced degree. The aim is to create a pathway from the public schools to the WSC Earth Science program. Most students who graduate from Worcester State College remain in the area after graduation so this endeavor we will produce graduates who will go on to teach geosciences at the secondary level in the surrounding communities, further cementing these institutional relationships.