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)提供资金的。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，通过创建一个综合渠道，吸引不同级别的学生参与，增加本科生地球科学课程的多样性。在这个地区，35.7%的学生是拉丁裔，12.9%是非洲裔美国人，7.8%是亚裔美国人，这让该项目对代表性不足的人群产生了特别的影响。这个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、实习和促进协议在WSC和周围学校之间建立这些联系。第一项倡议是为中学教师开发一个课程丰富计划，这是马萨诸塞州公共教育中唯一明确将地球科学作为课程一部分的水平。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·马萨斯·奥杜邦、马萨诸塞州彼得沙姆的哈佛森林、地区环境委员会和像有毒土壤破坏者这样的青年团体合作开发了这个项目。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，该协议将允许他们参加大学级别的地球科学课程。接触大学环境并获得大学学分将给这些学生带来显著的经验和经济优势，如果他们选择攻读高级学位的话。其目的是创建一条从公立学校到WSC地球科学计划的途径。大多数从伍斯特州立学院毕业的学生毕业后仍留在该地区，因此我们将培养出毕业生，他们将继续在周围社区的中学一级教授地球科学，进一步巩固这些机构关系。

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.