Breakthrough’s participation with The Biogen Foundation STAR initiative has been a centerpiece of our Full STEAM Ahead Program that provides our students with early exposure to STEM education and career pathways. 12th grade CRLS student, Iman, is a great example of the impact that can have on a young learner. Iman has participated in many opportunities through this program throughout her time with Breakthrough.  

As she prepares for graduation, Iman has earned early admission to Tufts University, where she plans to double major, with Biotechnology as one of her majors. Iman is excited to continue her hands-on learning that started with Breakthrough, where, in 7th grade she remembers participating in a blood lab workshop. “Breakthrough initially got me interested in science in general. That was the first lab I had even done.” 

Iman stayed engaged in STEM learning through Breakthrough’s High School After School Program and was able to be connected to meaningful summer internship opportunities that have allowed her to further explore interest in biotech. As part of Breakthrough’s College Access Program, she focused her college applications on programs that would help launch her STEM career. We can’t wait to see all that lies ahead for Iman!

Lesley University worked with six 6th grade science educators from Somerville Public Schools to create hands-on, inquiry-based activities related to their curriculum and develop portable learning kits for each of their activities. These science learning kits were distributed to teachers to disseminate to their students in time for February vacation week. Some of the activities include mummification and papyrus (paper making), experiments with yeast to understand biological systems like the respiratory and digestive systems and an activity related to building a model of a hand and understanding the structural systems of bones, muscles and blood flow. This initiative reached 250 middle school students across 4 Somerville schools. 

Dachenie Ganthier, a senior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, has participated in Enroot since she was in 9th grade. With the dream of becoming a doctor, she participates in the Health Assisting program at Rindge School of Technical Arts where she is working toward becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant. She has loved this opportunity in the medical field and, in pursuit of this interest, has participated in many of The Biogen Foundation STAR initiative supported STEM related opportunities at Enroot to further explore STEM careers and educational opportunities as she looks to her next steps. Dachenie said that “Enroot has definitely been a huge help for me in the college process, because I have talked with many different people [who] help me navigate applications, reassure [me], and [have] check-ins with me. My rock [is] my mentor, Sable, who has been a great help in all areas. They have also been a great help with my interest in the STEM fields because we have had many seminars with different connections in the STEM field come talk to us.” Dachenie plans to study Biology on the pre-med track at the University of Amherst next fall. Congratulations and best of luck to Dachenie!

In June, with support from The Biogen Foundation STAR initiative , the Lesley STEAM Learning Lab and Cambridge Youth Programs (CYP) partnered to co-design a workshop for CYP youth workers called ‘Replenish,’ that focused on science related to water cycles and properties. The Replenish workshop took the form of an educational alternate reality game (ARG) and consists of social learning experiences that encourage players to collaboratively solve puzzles and accomplish activities. 

Participants cycled through five different STEM focused alternate reality game stations. Each station had a different set of exploratory, hands-on STEM activities including: solving water conservation puzzles, playing heat-transfer tag, mapping heat islands with infrared thermometers, observing how water moves and cools, designing and testing bubble wands, mixing surface tension to make art, and creating water movement dances. One youth worker said during the day that “If I had done this as a kid, I would have been more interested in science!” 

Following the workshop portion of the day, participants brainstormed ways to incorporate, adapt and extend these activities into their summer programming with middle and high-school students. Some ideas that they came up with included designing cooling towers, water fans, personal and individual cooling shelters, communicating through movement, and creating place-based or thematic dances to help build community. 40 CYP youth workers participated in the Replenish workshop and are now well-equipped to facilitate and adapt these activities at youth centers across the city. With ongoing support from The Biogen Foundation STAR Initiative, Lesley will continue to work with partners to provide workshops  like Replenish that help educators become more knowledgeable and confident in their abilities to facilitate hands-on STEM learning.

Amrin, soon to be a 10th grader at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, is in her fourth year with Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB), one of the six organizations in The Biogen Foundation STAR Initiative. Amrin made the critical transition to high school during the pandemic when school and classes were being held remotely. Last summer, and throughout this school year, she participated in Breakthrough’s virtual programming. In a recent conversation, we learned more about how Breakthrough has helped her discover and grow her love for science. 

“I really love science. One of my favorite subjects this year was physics, and I also love learning about biotechnology as well. When I was doing one of the after-school programs in Breakthrough, we visited The Biogen Foundation. Honestly, that’s when I really fell in love with biotech and wanted to learn more about it. So, I have Breakthrough and The Biogen Foundation to thank for my intro and interest in STEM fields. It helps me understand why certain things function the way they do. Without it, I wouldn’t understand how the COVID vaccine works and or how we could fend off superbugs.”  

We look forward to hearing more about Amrin’s pursuits and know that all the students at BTGB will have many opportunities to dive into science exploration this summer! 

In addition to BTBG’s core after school academic support program, The Biogen Foundation STAR initiative also support’s BTGB’s Full STEAM Ahead curriculum, used in their middle school programs with 300 students in Cambridge and Somerville.

During the 2020-2021 school year, Somerville Public Schools worked with STAR partners to launch a new project called the ‘Math Ambassadors.’ The project provided opportunity for students grades 5-11 to participate in experiential learning around equity in mathematics by engaging in analysis and decision-making processes with SPS teachers and administrators. The idea for this program came from students themselves who, in providing feedback to the district, noticed a discrepancy between 8th grade math performance and 9th grade placement. 

The goal of the Math Ambassadors project was to ensure that students were integral to every step of the decision-making process at the district level. Students met weekly to engage in conversations around equity in mathematics – what it looks like, feels like, and how it shows up in outcome data. They reviewed data on class placement, differences in failure rates and the relationships between math performance in 8th grade and 9th grade placement.They also met three times with a group of SPS math teachers and administrators to push staff to grapple with issues of bias and racism and encourage them to think more creatively and equitably about proposed solutions.

STAR grantees supported the district in this endeavor in several key ways. Many students were recruited from STAR programs Citizen Schools and Breakthrough Greater Boston. The Young People’s Project, another STAR grantee, provided financial support for student participants. These STAR partners worked together to generate momentum with students and continuously improve this student-centered project. 

The Math Ambassadors group will meet again in the fall to continue these important conversations.

On January 30th, 2020, the STAR Student Engagement Subcommittee hosted its first student design session with nine student leaders grades 6-12 from schools across Cambridge and Somerville and representing STAR grantee programs at Citizens Schools, Enroot, Breakthrough Greater Boston and the Young People’s Project. Students worked with each other to reflect and share their understanding of STAR, brainstorm questions and areas of improvement they have for their respective STEM programs, and learn about the purpose of ecosystem/systems thinking. Subcommittee members were impressed by the students’ perceptiveness around the higher purpose of the STAR initiative- namely the importance of building strong pathways to STEM education and careers. This year, STAR grantees are striving to create more spaces like this, where students have the platform and agency to guide and shape conversations around STAR’s narrative, activities and future direction. The STAR Initiative is so grateful to our students for sharing their time and input – we’re excited to continue listening, learning, and collaborating with the initiative’s most important stakeholders.

 In November, 2020, STAR grantees Enroot and Lesley University partnered to design and run an interactive workshop for high school students to help them see themselves as mathematicians by identifying math in everyday life. The workshop focused on analyzing polling data from the November 2020 presidential election and reviewing the presentations of this data on various news sites. Students discussed the logistical, legal and operational aspects of elections, clarifying things like what role individuals can play in voting and the qualifications to hold office (citizenship, age, etc). Students examined how to access voting data, the voting process and the stories and perspectives that are hidden in data projections. Thinking as mathematicians, students looked beyond the data with a critical lens.