Planning for a charter school-university-museum partnership to enhance diversity in the geosciences

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This OEDG Planning Grant is being used to plan a partnership among Cornell University, the KIPP NYC charter schools, the Cornell Upward Bound program, which promotes college attainment for students, and the Paleontological Research Institute (PRI) and its Museum of the Earth. The partnership?s goals are to enhance participation of underrepresented minorities in the geosciences through working with large numbers of minority students in an environment where college enrollment is fostered and science pedagogy is valued. The partnership seeks to improve the quality of Earth science education across four KIPP middle schools and 1 high school, and increase student exposure to Earth science content. This project represents a new direction for the KIPP schools, which have an excellent record of increasing academic achievement in urban settings, but mostly through emphasis on reading and math, not inquiry-based science. Bridging of KIPP and Upward Bound activities are expected to help sustain interest in science beyond high school and facilitate applications to colleges where geoscience degrees might be pursued. The partnership seeks to increase awareness of the geosciences and to enhance the effectiveness of their middle and high school science preparation to provide a foundation for successful college science experiences. The main activity of this planning phase is to establish a Roundtable the explores the most effective implementation strategies to use within the KIPP school context, including teacher professional development, field trips, community outreach, geoscience immersion experiences, and college preparation resources.