Steve Hamilton is co-PI on a project funded by the National Science Foundation called “Planning for a charter school-university-museum partnership to enhance diversity in the geosciences” with Robert Ross (PI) and others at the Museum of the Earth. The planning grant project will build a partnership to enhance participation of underrepresented minorities in the geosciences through working with large numbers of minority students in an environment where college enrollment is fostered and science pedagogy is valued. The four partner organizations are: KIPP NYC, a network of successful charter schools seeking improved science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; Cornell Upward Bound, an organization dedicated to making college education attainable; Cornell University, a university focusing on administering partnerships for equity in STEM education; and the PRI and its Museum of the Earth, a museum specializing in inquiry-based Earth science education.
The project will seek to increase the amount and improve the quality of Earth science education across four KIPP middle schools and a high school. KIPP schools have an excellent record of increasing academic achievement in urban settings, but they have traditionally emphasized reading and math and lagged in inquiry-based science. The partnership seeks to increase awareness of the geosciences and to enhance the effectiveness of their middle and high school science preparation to provide a foundation for successful college science experiences. Partners will also work to foster maintenance of interest in sciences through high school and application to colleges where geoscience degrees might be pursued.