High-Poverty Schools in Massachusetts Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council July 11, 2017

More than 1/6 MA students attends a high-poverty school Expand targeted initiatives to strengthen foundational STEM skills, while deepening the pipeline of well-trained STEM teachers and school leaders Focus on under-represented populations and communities with high concentrations of low- income families and involve both students and parents 17.4 percent of Massachusetts students attends a school where >75% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch (2014) Nationally, that share has been growing. (No historical data for Massachusetts) The fate of these schools will help determine the fate of MA and the nation.

MA high-poverty schools fall back in math A precipitous drop in high-poverty schools

MA high-poverty schools fall below nat’l science average MA falls below the national average

MA high-poverty schools lack teaching resources

MA high-poverty schools lack teaching resources MA lags behind peer states

MA high-poverty schools lack science labs & materials Even fewer have access to supplies for labs Less than half of students in high-poverty schools have access to science labs

MA high-poverty schools lack science labs & materials MA and NJ lag behind peer states

MA high-poverty schools lack teachers with math degrees

MA high-poverty schools lack teachers with math degrees Again, MA and NJ lag behind

MA high-poverty schools limit hands-on science

MA high-poverty schools limit hands-on science The largest apparent gap

Building pathways to college & career in poor communities Support standards implementation (ID, PA) Support afterschool (IA, PA, NJ) Policy & intermediary organizations support work-based learning (CA, NY, TN, SC, IA) Overhaul CTE courses for quality and coherence (TN, AR, ) STANDARDS (Critical to support Next Gen—possibly with a small set of scalable programs. Especially important in high-poverty schools. * Idaho—STEM PD to support new standards; better; AMSTI (Alabama) & ASSET (PA) connect PD to science materials. Keep an eye on virtual reality (DC high school funded) to promote access to virtual labs in schools that can’t afford them. AFTERSCHOOL. STEM Ecosystems in PA, NJ, CA. Attempts to get into the poorest communities.; collaboration among major providers—4H, Boys/Girls Clubs, etc—to coordinate their services better; National $$ is in serious question, however. America After 3PM suggests that there is large unmet demand for STEM asfterschool in communities of concentrated poverty. WBL California Intermediary organizations: ConnectEd/Linked Learning (California); P-Tech (New York); National Academy Foundation (in Massachusetts, but only 168 students). They have experience, but it’s always slow-going, especially when you try to reach students who need it most. CTEq work-based learning guide; GA policy: “offers discounts of up to 5% on worker’s compensation insurance premiums to companies that provide State Board of Education-certified work-based learning experiences to students aged 16 and older”; IA policy: “provided $1.5 million to establish a statewide network of regional work-based learning intermediary organizations to expand the availability of work-based learning opportunities, particularly related to STEM occupations” SC policy: “companies receive a $1,000 tax credit for every participating apprentice.” TN policy: “; issuing a new WBL Implementation Guide and WBL Policy Guide that includes criteria under which students can earn HS credit for WBL; publishing WBL Career Practicum Course Standards (including STEM Practicum, Engineering Practicum, Programming & Software Development Practicum); piloting and refining the new approach in five communities; and finally providing training and assistance to local WBL Coordinators to scale the new approach statewide” CTE: TN,

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