Building off of our successful services for girls programs (Sisters4Science, All Girls Expedition, and Girl’s Health and Science Day), Project Exploration is excited to introduce its newest program—Brothers4Science!  With the support of the University of Chicago’s Neighborhood Schools Program, this exciting new program is being piloted in three south side schools—Ariel Academy, Mollison Elementary, and Till Elementary. Brothers4Science is a year-round after-school program for middle-school boys that combines science exploration with leadership development.  At first glance, you may think Brothers4Science is just like our Sisters4Science program, but the different developmental needs of boys call for different educational strategies.  We hope to learn a lot during this pilot program to build a suite of programming for boys based on their needs, curiosities, and interests.

The launching of Brothers4Science is significant for many reasons.  According to the fourth annual report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education (often called the “Black Boys Report”), the rate of high school graduation for Chicago’s African American males is 44%.  The percentage of people of color, (in this case African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics) that represent the science and engineering workforce is only 9.1% according to the National Academy of Science’s report, “Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads”.  It is critical to Project Exploration’s mission to provide personalized experiences with science and scientists of color through Brothers4Science to address these inequities.

Project Exploration sees these challenges as an opportunity to employ some strategies that have been identified to address the needs of young boys.  Some examples include incorporating elements of literacy, supporting the development of a positive male identity, providing opportunities for students to develop relationships with each other and staff, fostering the application and real-life value of science, and inviting guest science speakers (see resources below).  This is where Brothers4Science comes in.

The goals of Brothers4Science are to:

•  Create a safe space for boys to explore science and develop leadership skills;
• Introduce minority boys to the wide variety of roles in science; and
• Improve minority boys’ overall attitudes about science by developing team-building, communication and leadership skills.

In collaboration with the Neighborhood Schools Program, we selected three neighborhood schools and identified three undergraduate students to provide support at each school. We are excited to welcome three new Brothers4Science facilitators—Khari Thompson, Nate Upham, and Steven Willis—who will soon post about their experiences and the boys’ explorations in science. Now in our third week, we have worked with 45 boys to establish codes of conducts and gather specific science interest at all three schools. Be sure to look out for upcoming posts about authentic and meaningful activities with some of Chicago’s most engaged and curious boys!

To learn more about the black boys concerns and what you can do check out these resources:

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/topics/reaching-black-boys

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/tsr/too-important-to-fail/

http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/er/pntroub1.html

http://www.blackboysincrisis.com/index.htm

Growing Boys: Implementing a Boys’ Empowerment Group in an Afterschool Program by Georgia Hall, Ph.D. and Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D. http://www.niost.org/Afterschool-Matters/afterschool-matters-spring-2011

Recruiting and Retaining Older African American and Hispanic Boys in After-School Programs: What We Know and What We Still Need to Learn by Tina J. Kauh  http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publication.asp?search_id=0&publication_id=323&section_id=0

 

Project Exploration is gracious to have the support of The University of Chicago’s Department of Civic Engagement to pilot the Brothers4Science program.