SCIENCE IN OAKLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Creating moments with powerful impacts.
Who We AreScientists. Engineers. Mathematicians. Physicists. Future Doctors. Students. Human beings with a desire to learn and educate.
Founded in August of 2015, we are a group of undergraduate students at UC Berkeley that make up the SOES DeCal (student-faciliated course on campus). Our goal is to expose elementary school students in the West Oakland area to careers in STEM fields while simultaneously helping them improve scholastic achievement through fun and engaging science experiments. This class/program will give Berkeley students the opportunity to learn about STEM education techniques for young learners and raise awareness of the achievement gaps in STEM education correlated with different cultural, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. |
How We Came to BeRachel Slaybaugh (Faculty Sponsor):
An assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who goes beyond the classroom to raise awareness of the barriers that are still present in modern-day education. After moving to West Oakland and integrating herself in the city, Professor Slaybaugh realized that she wanted to help her community through education. She developed this DeCal and has provided the resources to make all of this possible. (Thank you, Rachel, for being an inspiring and incredible professor and person.) Super Stars Literacy: Super Stars Literacy provides extended learning time intervention services to under-performing K-2nd grade students, helping them develop the literacy and social skills that are the foundation for future learning (superstars literacy.org). With the help of this wonderful program, we have been able to grow and develop as a program ourselves. (Thank you for the support and opportunity!) |