GSE/EXT - STEM Equity Pipeline 2.0

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Intellectual Merit: The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Education Foundation proposes to increase its impact by leveraging its model extension services project, the STEM Equity Pipeline (SEP), that has been successfully implemented in twelve states, by expanding its suite of consulting and professional development services and its reach to ten additional states with the goal of increasing the number of diverse women completing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs of study at the high school and community college level. A core strength of the SEP model is its integration with the implementation of the Perkins Act (Perkins 2006), which funds improvement of career and technical education (CTE) at the state and local level, and includes an accountability measure requiring all recipients to increase the participation and completion of underrepresented students in nontraditional CTE programs (i.e. women in STEM). The project will apply the Program Improvement Process for Equity in STEM (PIPE-STEM) model that incorporates performance gap analysis, identification of root causes aligned with research-based strategies, and evaluation to measure outcomes to sustain change in educational systems. An Extension Services Group (ESG) of gender equity in STEM research and practice experts will provide consulting and professional development services to state extension service agents (SESAs) made up of education professionals that provide technical assistance and professional development to high school and community college educators. SESAs will be trained to provide extension services using the suite of SEP professional development programs via: (1) a train-the-trainer institute; (2) an annual conference where best practices will be shared; (2) professional development webinars; (3) a Virtual Learning Community and (4) on-going consulting. Other unique features of the model include: recruitment and vetting process for new states, a tested organizational structure; experienced trainers, training methods and content; a refined institutional change process; guidance for improving data-driven decisions using Perkins data; research-based resources on women in STEM programs of study and promising practices; and a focus on formal education. Each of these capacities has been customized and refined for greater effectiveness while working with staff in State Departments of Education and local education agencies. The process is focused on systematically examining and understanding what barriers women face to participation in STEM related programs of study rather than jumping to conclusions and implementing a flawed ?silver bullet? solution. The process ensures that State Teams will invest time and effort in providing consulting, professional development and technical assistance that leads to the implementation of improvement strategies that actually achieve measurable results. Broader Impact: SEP 2.0 will increase the number of states served from 12 to 22 and more than double its reach beyond the current 2690 extension agents already trained. The STEM Equity Pipeline's suite of professional development programs includes its signature institutional change model, PIPE-STEM, featuring improvements based on feedback, and two new professional development programs: Micro-messaging to Reach and Teach Every Student, teacher training on classroom-based effective instructional practices; and STEM Equity Counselor training, focused on effective recruitment and career development strategies. Integral to all the SEP professional development is the research on the intersection of gender and other factors such as race, culture, disability, and socio-economic status and their influence on women and girl?s access and success in STEM education and transition to STEM careers.