Dr. Calvin Mackie

STEM Global Action & STEM NOLA Founder Dr. Calvin Mackie Calls for 1 Million Children Across the U.S. to be Engaged with STEM Learning on Saturday Mornings

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA , UNITED STATES, April 18, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- In a video tribute by the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), STEM NOLA Founder and President Dr. Calvin Mackie says his goal is to help facilitate one million children across the United States in engaging in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) hands-on activities on Saturday mornings, rather than sports.

Airing during the NSTA national convention in March, the video touts the outstanding STEM learning programs that Dr. Mackie has created over the last 10 years. STEM NOLA, the flagship affiliate of STEM Global Action (SGA), has developed a community engagement model that helps all children, especially those from low resourced communities, overcome challenges and barriers that prevented them from attending STEM learning programs.

“When we started STEM NOLA, I used to say that every Saturday in America one million kids play football and basketball, and one day I like to see a million kids doing STEM.” Dr. Mackie says on the video. “I used to say that jokingly, but now (our goal) is to take our model and replicate it in urban and rural areas across this country, to the point where we have a million kids doing STEM on Saturday, doing hands-on STEM, getting the skills that they need in the 21st century.”

Through years of work, Dr. Mackie learned the importance of exposing youth to early and ongoing exposure to STEM concepts in rigorous, culturally relevant environments. “It is critical to unlocking their future, to opening the doors to the economic opportunities and careers that STEM can uniquely provide,” he says. “Our model features paid programmatic staff, college and professional volunteers, hands-on learning opportunities, and a culture of excellence. Our approach provides long-term engagement and ongoing mentoring for participants.”

On the video, Jamie Sachs, SGA’s Chief Learning Officer, says their programs engage “families and community members as well as college students, and professional. STEM NOLA provides opportunities for students and families and the community to engage in STEM activities. Events on Saturdays engage families and community members as well as college students and professionals, all the way to professional development for teachers and in class sessions for students, as well as after school sessions.”

Familiar with STEM NOLA programming, Rosamund Looney, a first-grade teacher at the William Hart Elementary School, talks about the impact in her classroom. The school is in the Jefferson Parish Public School System, which is the largest school district in Louisiana. “The (STEM NOLA) programming has been very hands-on and really interactive,” she says. “It's helped me go to the next level to prep materials and to make sure that all of the materials are things that students can access and work.”

In 2013, Dr. Mackie founded STEM NOLA, a non-profit organization created to expose, inspire, and engage communities in STEM. Over 10 years, STEM NOLA and other affiliates have engaged more than 125,000 K-12 students in hands-on, project-based STEM activities. In 2021, Dr. Mackie launched STEM Global Action to advance K-12 STEM education across the U.S. and the world. Dr. Mackie is working with public officials, corporate leaders, and philanthropic groups to start new SGA affiliates and bring high-level STEM learning to new locations.

“We will continue engaging students and communities in STEM,” Dr. Mackie says. “STEM education is the foundation for pulling families and communities out of poverty and creating pathways to jobs and careers that can help close the racial wealth gap.”

Dr. Mackie is honored to have been highlighted by NSTA.

Founded in 1944, NSTA is headquartered in Arlington, VA and is the largest organization of science teachers worldwide, with a membership of approximately 40,000 people, which includes science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in and committed to science education.

ABOUT STEM GLOBAL ACTION
Dr. Calvin Mackie founded STEM NOLA in 2013. The New Orleans non-profit is committed to expanding STEM education, especially in communities of color. In July 2021, Dr. Mackie launched STEM Global Action, a campaign and network pursuing STEM education for children, parents, and communities. His initiatives have impacted more than 125,000 students, 20,000 families and 5,100 schools across the U.S., and in five countries. Here is an archive of Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_UPXIrgkzwsXFiefgOpgYlUNzD-T3iaw

The STEM Global Action website includes:

STEM Global Action Today at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_UPXIrgkzwsXFiefgOpgYlUNzD-T3iaw, which has comprehensive articles on some of the most important issues related to STEM, and takes readers into the lives of STEM educators and their extraordinary students, who will be the STEM leaders of tomorrow.

STEM Global Action Data Center (https://stemglobalaction.com/stem-data-center/, a one-stop resource library for studies, reports, video presentations and news coverage about STEM.

Michael K. Frisby
Frisby & Associates
+1 240-988-9791
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
LinkedIn

Video Tribute to STEM NOLA

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.