STEAMPOWER
about us
our drive and motivation
STEAMPower is a student-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization aiming to bridge gaps in education by providing free one-on-one tutoring and other educational opportunities to any and all students. This may sound like a very simple mission - and, at its core, it is. But the fight for educational equity throughout history has proven to be much more difficult than it would seem.
Looking around our world today, we simply do not see equality in education that we should. We don't see the educational opportunities that should be available to every child in every corner of the world extended to them. Low income, first-generation, female, and LGBTQ+ have remained disproportionally represented in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (STEAM) - it's time we change that.
Most of the things we use on a daily basis and rely on are powered by STEAM: hence our name STEAMPower! We believe that by empowering more people to pursue STEAM, we can achieve greater strides in social change. Why? Because STEAM is a medium for social change! From social media to online mental health platforms to online campaigns, STEAM is a medium to drive change!
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As a completely grassroots organization, STEAMPower relies solely on people and power in numbers to help make the change we want to see in the world. We operate on a "think globally, act locally" basis - we act with the end goal in mind, using our unique perspectives and experiences to change our respective communities. Together, we can achieve greatness and truly make our world STEAMPowered.
educational inequity is intersectional - and so are we
The problem with educational inequity is that it's great at being disguised - largely ignored, but always present. So where does it hide? Here are some statistics.
According to the US Census Bureau, individuals within the top quartile of income are 8 times more likely to obtain a bachelor's degree by age 24 compared to individuals of the lowest income quartile.
A report from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that lower income students were less likely to enroll in college within one year of graduating college. Of the low income students that did enroll in college, 64% of students in the lowest income quintile enrolled in a community or for-profit institution, while 80% of students in the highest income quintile enrolled in a public or private four-year institution.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the high school drop out rate for low income students was 8.8% higher than high income students in 2014.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the dropout rate for American Indian/Alaska Native students was 10.1%, while it was just 2.1% for Asian-American students. College Board's 2017 Mean SAT scores showed that on average, Hispanic/Latino students scored 128 points lower on the SAT than White students.
Sean Nicholson-Crotty, PhD, at Indiana University and her colleagues found that black students were 54 percent less likely than white students to be recommended for gifted-education programs. Rutgers University psychologist Kent Harber, PhD found that when white teachers give feedback on a poorly written essay, they are more critical if they think the author was a white student rather than one that was black.
In the United States, women in STEM fields remains a persistent issue. According to the National Science Board Science and Engineering Indicators 2018, female students were 13% less likely to take an engineering class and 54% less likely to take AP Computer Science A.
Women only made up 28% of the science and engineering workforce, 15% in engineering, and 26% in computer and mathematical sciences.
On a global scale, women's education faces a whole new set of challenges. According to unwomen.org, women make up over two-thirds of the world's 796 illiterate people. In Cambodia, 48% of rural women are illiterate. Only 39% of rural girls globally attend secondary school. This is especially significant because data from 68 countries shows that a woman's education is a key factor in determining the likelihood of her child's survival.
According to a study by Harvard School of Public Health, 10% of LGBTQ students said they were discouraged from applying to college. According to the same study, 50-77% of LGBTQ people said LGBTQ people have fewer employment opportunities just because they are LGBTQ.
A 2009 report by the National Education Association describes the problems facing many LGBTQ students including missing school, underachieving, and dropping out, as a direct consequence of harassment suffered at school.
These numbers don't mean that students of lower economic statuses, students of different ethnicities, female students, and LGBTQ students are any any less capable than other students. Rather, this is numerical proof of inequitable educational access and bias in education for many groups, creating what is more commonly known as the "achievement gap". This gap is precisely what STEAMPower aims to lessen. Here's how.
steampower's solution
A simple approach to a complex issue.
There's no doubt that issues in education are multifaceted. They stem from complex and misunderstood places and stem into complex and misunderstood things. Regardless, it's important to recognize the opportunities and possibilities opened by education. While we know it's impractical to fix all inequities and inequalities with a snap of the finger, we realize that many of the problems we see in education branch from two fundamental issues: accessibility and encouragement. At STEAMPower, we aim to tackle these two issues at their core, acting as the catalyst to larger change.
accessibility
Much of the achievement gap, especially in communities, students, and families that deal with socioeconomic setbacks, comes from a larger lack of accessibility. Many lower income individuals are simply unable to access the resources higher income individuals benefit from: private tutoring, private school, and a plethora of other resources.
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At STEAMPower, we realize the scope of people we can impact with technology. With the digital revolution comes an important responsibility: one that demands that we use our wide reach for good. STEAMPower's core hope is that educational opportunities and resources will be accessible to any and everyone who needs it. For us, this means extending our knowledge, skills, and insight to those who would benefit from it.
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The core of STEAMPower is accessibility: we want to make education for everyone possible without any hurdles. Everything we offer is 100% free of charge. We offer completely free one-on-one virtual tutoring with amazing tutors and mentors that exemplify our mission, are currently creating a helpful series of educational videos that anyone can access through our website, and will continue to provide resources that anyone who needs it can use, without any barriers.
encouragement
Many students may not be encouraged to pursue certain fields by their family or peers, or even attend college at all. The idea that certain fields are reserved for a specific group of people is a detrimental mindset that prevents many individuals from feeling like they are worthy enough to pursue what they're passionate about.
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STEAMPower's amazing team of mentors and tutors come from all over the globe, bringing their unique perspectives and points of view into helping passionate students achieve and thrive. Our goal is to support you, no matter who you are, to succeed in whatever you want. We'll put our utmost effort into helping you grow, and we hope to be a valuable part of your journey to success.
SOURCES:
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16
https://reports.collegeboard.org/archive/sat-suite-program-results/2017/overview
https://archive.news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2016/05/gifted-student-placement.shtml
https://ngcproject.org/statistics
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/commission-on-the-status-of-women-2012/facts-and-figures
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/poll-lgbtq-americans-discrimination/
https://nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsb20181/
https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/factsheet-education.pdf
https://cepa.stanford.edu/content/global-increase-socioeconomic-achievement-gap-1964-2015