Preparing Youth for the Future: Stem Prodigy and SLAM! Foundation Collaborate on STEM Education

Together, Stem Prodigy and SLAM! Foundation invest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to open opportunities for students in South Florida.

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, November 14, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- STEM Prodigy (SP), a NYC-based STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) education lab, has partnered with The SLAM! Foundation to provide robotics, computer science, engineering, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) classes to SLAM! students. This partnership aims to provide STEM curriculum and instruction to SLAM! educators to help ignite interest in their students and set the stage for potential careers in these fields.

Amelie Phung first met Rene Ruiz, Governing Board chair and President of SLAM! Foundation at a gala and golf outing hosted by the Rise 2 Greatness Foundation. Subsequently, Amelie and her team piloted robotics and AI in a classroom at the SLAM! School located in Miami, FL. This location was opened in 2012 by the educational advocate and Grammy-Award winner Armando Christian Pérez (Pitbull). "It was a rewarding experience to teach robotics and AI to the students. They were curious and stimulated---emotions I can relate to when I was first introduced to the topics, " said Amelie. After the successful pilot, plans to strengthen their STEM curriculum are in progress. SP will provide mentorship and guidance in incorporating MIT’s scratch and App Inventor programs in the classroom. Both Pitbull and Rene have visions of creating a gifted school that supports students' passions for sports, business, and the arts.

Another goal of the alliance is to connect the SLAM! students to the U.S. Department of Defense’s STEM portal (DoDSTEM) to showcase the vast resources and opportunities available through internships and employment. For example, the DoD SMART scholarship program awards tuition to college-bound or college-enrolled students and matches them with a mentor, internship, and full time employment upon graduation.

Furthermore, SP has partnered with Girls Who Code (GWC), a nonprofit computer science organization working towards mitigating the gender gap in programming. GWC places a particular emphasis on educating historically underrepresented groups using fun games, crafts, and lesson plans.

In the pipeline, SP has plans to establish a tutoring program leveraging technology to aid high-performing students in tutoring their peers in STEM-related subjects. The technology will not only optimize scheduling, but also will allow a tutor's educational strengths to be transparent and ultimately, rated.

With STEM jobs projected to grow faster than any other occupations, exposure to STEM is valuable. The collaboration between SP and SLAM! schools does not conclude in Miami. Discussions are underway to train and hire SLAM! students and alumni to expand this sustainable model to other SLAM! locations within Florida.

About STEM Prodigy:
Co-founded by Amelie Phung in 2018, STEM Prodigy is a community-based company focused on teaching STEM concepts through interactive learning. Their programs encompass Lego robotics, coding, Engineering and Innovation, and AI, reaching children in after-school, summer, and corporate programs. With a Girls Who Code partnership, STEM Prodigy aims to bridge educational gaps, particularly in disadvantaged communities.


The SLAM! Foundation:
The SLAM Foundation is a non-profit educational organization supporting the expansion of K-12 tuition-free, public charter schools in underrepresented communities nationwide. They currently serve almost 8,000 students across 14 schools in Florida, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona. SLAM! schools are accredited by COGNIA under the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools division.


About Girls Who Code:
Girls Who Code is a non-profit organization founded by Reshma Saujani that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as essential to their mission. Their goal is to close the gender gap in technology.


About DoD STEM:
Dod STEM’s mission is to inspire, cultivate, and develop exceptional STEM talent through a continuum of opportunities to enrich our current and future Department of Defense workforce poised to tackle evolving defense technological challenges.


About App Inventor Foundation:
It is a 501c3 nonprofit organization established by the creators of App Inventor from MIT and Google (including Hal Abelson, MIT professor, Mark Friedman, ex-Googler, Jeff Schiller, MIT Enterprise Architect, and Natalie Lao, Executive Director). The App Inventor Foundation expands upon the educational initiatives of the App Inventor project by offering additional resources for teachers and students across the globe.


About Scratch Foundation:
Established in 2013, Mitchel Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, and David Siegel, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the investment management firm Two Sigma, are the original founders. Mitch and David share a vision of ensuring that Scratch is available for free, for all kids around the world to express their creativity through code.

For more information, visit https://www.stemprodigy.com and https://slamfoundation.org
Follow us on social media: @stem.prodigy
#STEMProdigy

Jenny Wang
Stem Prodigy
info@stemprodigy.com
Visit us on social media:
Instagram