Momentum and the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University have teamed up to bring a grant program funded by the National Science Foundation to the Eagle Academies of Harlem and Southeast Queens.
The grant program – America’s Water Education Project to Engage Young Black and Latino Men in Data Science through Water Security, or AWE – is designed to break through persistent barriers faced by Black and Latino men in STEM education and careers. Working with 8th through 11th grade students and their teachers from the Eagle Academies of Harlem and Southeast Queens, AWE will integrate data science into math and science curricula to test, among other things, the effect on STEM competency and the likelihood of students’ choosing a data science career, especially one related to water security.
Communities of color across the United States face increasing challenges with affordable access to safe drinking water, as seen in Flint, Newark, Texas and elsewhere. Using data science to explore why, where and how this is happening, and what is being done about it, provides a powerful vehicle for engaging students in STEM and helping to develop a digital workforce with appropriate representation from these communities of color.
We will keep you posted on the project as it rolls out over the coming months.