By third grade, girls from communities of color often lose confidence in math, perpetuating exclusion. According to the U.S. National Science Foundation, despite comprising 32 percent of the U.S. population, Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, or Latina women make up less than 5 percent of STEM employees. Access to STEM not only fosters economic mobility, but also enhances diversity and drives innovation. STEM From Dance was created to build girls’ confidence and encourage curiosity and resilience in STEM.
STEM From Dance inspires girls of color to unlock their joy, power, and STEM potential across the U.S. The organization empowers and equips girls with the skills, confidence, and experience needed to thrive in STEM through the power of dance. Leveraging a multifaceted approach to address the systemic underrepresentation of women of color in STEM, participants receive hands-on activities blending STEM and performing arts, fostering skills such as innovative thinking, problem-solving, and computational thinking.
The STEM From Dance experience starts with short catalytic programs that give girls a sense of the experience. Then, the programs progress into longer immersive programs, where girls can participate for years. More specifically, clubs and pop-ups serve as entry points, offered either weekly or as one-time events throughout the school year to ignite interest. The organization encourages girls to attend a three-week summer camp that offers daily immersive experiences, culminating dance-tech performance. As participants advance into high school and college, the organization’s College & Career program provides resources, mentorship, and social capital to navigate STEM fields successfully. Through an online support community, STEM From Dance provides continuous support and collaboration opportunities beyond the classroom and ensures participants have a consistent network throughout their educational journey. Since 2012, STEM From Dance has served more than 4,000 girls across the U.S. increasing STEM understanding and proficiency by 82 percent.
The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund will support STEM From Dance clubs and pop-ups throughout the academic school-year in two Chicagoland communities, South Shore and Avalon, to ignite interest in STEM on a wider scale. Additionally, STEM From Dance will offer a summer camp in partnership with Black Girls Dance, providing an immersive three-week experience to deepen participants’ STEM skills and sense of belonging through a culminating dance-tech performance. STEM From Dance aspires to serve 75 girls, ages eight to 24, between the summer and 2024-2025 academic school year.
For more information about STEM From Dance, please visit the organization’s website and social media pages:
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