Science Video

Moving Students of Color Into the STEM Fields

February 22, 2019 3:36

Emilio Pack, the founder and CEO of STEM Preparatory Schools in South Los Angeles, is building a network of schools to transform low-income students of color into high-tech problem solvers. Pack and his teachers are driven to put more low-income students on a path to earning college degrees that will lead to in-demand careers that pay well. They also intend to disrupt the STEM fields—where the high-demand, high-paying jobs are overwhelmingly filled with white men—with graduates from STEM Prep schools who are prepared for the rigors of college and the profession. “We believe… that with a K-12 organization of about 1,500 kids, that we can still produce as many STEM professionals of color as our local district, which has 600,000 kids,” Pack says. “ This video was produced as part of Education Week’s Leaders To Learn From project, recognizing outstanding school district leaders from around the country. Read more at https://leaders.edweek.org.

Coverage of leadership, summer learning, social and emotional learning, arts learning, and afterschool is supported in part by a grant from The Wallace Foundation, at www.wallacefoundation.org. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.

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