ONE STEM

The STEM Teaching, Research, and Inquiry-based Learning (STEM TRAIL) Center at UNO exists to elevate human potential by creating innovations in formal and informal STEM education. Led by the STEM TRAIL Center, the Omaha, Nebraska STEM project (ONE STEM) will build on successful informal STEM programs, grow their impact, and make this programming more accessible to all Omaha area community members, regardless of means. We will expand access to STEM summer camps and afterschool programs for grades 3-10 by 67%; engage the Omaha community through innovative “interactive immersion” by modernizing the planetarium and increasing attendance to 6,000 per year; connect the community by building a STEM Community Platform that identifies location-based “holes” in regional programming; get entire families engaged in STEM in their homes by distributing >1,800 activity kits; and train the future trainers through workshops attended by 50+ area teachers and/or program providers. The result: ONE community, served by ONE STEM programming.

Nebraska has a leaky pipeline for the STEM workforce. While high school graduation rates are high in Nebraska, the number of students (particularly from traditionally underrepresented groups) pursuing STEM studies and careers steadily declines from middle and high school to college and postgraduate studies. Nebraska ranks 36th in the country in terms of college STEM graduates, partly due to the leaky pipeline in STEM education. 46% of Nebraska’s 4th-grade students are proficient in math, which decreases to less than 38% by 8th grade. To tackle this challenge, we propose innovation in informal programs, which have been shown to improve academic performance, attendance rates, social skills, and STEM career interest. Students who participate in expanded learning opportunities are 20% less likely to drop out of school and 30% less likely to participate in criminal activities than peers who did not participate. We also propose professional development for teachers and program providers that can increase competency and capacity in formal and informal STEM educational settings.

The afterschool, summer camp, engagement, and workforce development programming of the STEM TRAIL Center at UNO targets the entire Omaha, NE community, as well as the state’s rural populations. Because of the success of these programs, we have the infrastructure to provide services to socioeconomically disadvantaged community members, such as middle school students from Omaha Public Schools (OPS). OPS is the largest and most diverse school district in Nebraska, enrolling 52,000 students, 72% of whom are minorities and 74% receiving free and reduced lunch. The community project described in this narrative will allow the center to sustainably increase its capacity, better reaching these community members, so that all Omaha-area residents have access to transformative opportunities in informal STEM and ultimately formal higher education.

As an example of the impact the STEM TRAIL Center programming has had in our community, more than 7,000 youth have been served by NE STEM 4U at 18 urban and rural schools/sites across Nebraska since 2019. In this innovative mentor/mentee afterschool program run by undergraduate STEM majors, youth participants demonstrate gains in STEM content knowledge and increased curiosity, inquiry, and scientific thinking, as measured through validated instruments. Undergraduate mentors that participate in NE STEM 4U have an astounding 97% retention rate within a STEM major.

The United States will need several million new college graduates in STEM in the years to come. Nebraska reflects this national trend with a projected 48,000 new STEM positions expected to be left unfilled. Changing demographics in the state of Nebraska also necessitates reaching out to traditionally underserved populations early and often. Failing to reach these groups will result in an inability to meet the state’s workforce needs. With 77% of past NE STEM 4U student participants from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, ONE STEM is uniquely positioned to prepare a more diverse student population for high demand, high-skill and high wage jobs in Nebraska.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 specifies the purpose of this earmark education grant as follows: “University of Nebraska System, Lincoln, NE for a science, technology engineering, and mathematics program.” The ONE STEM Initiative will be Nebraska’s signature program that provides a pathway for developing the state’s current and future STEM talent. By launching ONE STEM focused on a larger, more diverse population, the best practices will be translatable to K-12 students and can be replicated across the United States, especially in underserved and rural areas. The community project described in this narrative is completely consistent with the appropriations act language