A growing trend in education right now involves submerging students into an authentic, real-world challenge and seeing what they can do. Students at Washington High School participate in several academic competitions, including the state science fair, social studies fair, math bowl, and the environmental protection agency's essay and poster competition. We have been very fortunate to have a plethora of educational partnerships that continue to support our students and ensure they have a variety of experiences to support their educational experiences at Washington High School. Internships are beneficial because they help develop our student’s professional aptitude, strengthen personal character, and provide a greater door for opportunity. We want our students to know that by investing in extracurricular STEM related  internships, we are giving them the broadest spectrum of opportunity when s they apply colleges.

 

 

By having strategic partnerships with Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Mercedes Benz, The Arthur Blank Foundation, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Georgia Aquarium, Greenleaf Foundation, Statefarm, Atlanta Watershed Alliance, Truly Living Well, Citrix, Bronner Brothers and even the city of Atlanta our goal is to provide every student with the opportunity to participate in enhanced STEM learning experiences within-school as well as extracurricular activities such as internships and externships with our STEM partner.

 

Programs such as the Georgia Chief Science Officers offers leadership opportunities for students to be STEM ambassadors. The Georgia Chief Science Officers (CSO) initiative cultivates a cadre of student leaders across the state, enhancing their leadership, communication, and advocacy skills to meet the growing demand for these soft skills in STEM careers. The CSO program empowers students with a voice in STEM programming at their schools and in their communities. CSOs meet with legislators, school board members, and policymakers to lend their voices to conversations about STEM education and workforce development in our state.

 

Another program Hope for Youth, Inc.'s (HYPE) mission is to empower minority, high school girls to become leaders in tech through programs that offer computer science education, technology career exposure, and opportunities to lead coding workshops both domestically and internationally. HYPE has a yearly signature International Experience that gives participants a once-In-a-lifetime opportunity to travel  abroad and teach coding skills to youth in an international developing country or urban city center. Our students had the opportunity to apply the programming skills they learned in The HYPE Project and facilitated a 1-week coding workshop abroad. This train-the-trainer model allowed our students to go from being a student to a teacher and gain critical leadership skills that prepare them for future careers in tech, all while gaining a global perspective with exposure to new countries, cultures and ways of life. Additional STEM extra -curricular programs will be detailed below.

 

Opportunities for Growth

Many of our students are very transient and because we are a Title I school several of our students also work in addition to school. They rely heavily on having additional income to ensure they can help assist their families financially and provide other necessities for themselves. Our goal is to provide extra curricular activities that teach students not only the value of pursuing and taking their academics seriously but to provide stipends that grant students immediate fulfillment. This can help students make the connections between the importance of being successful academically and the investment one’s education can be. We know that by providing them with paid opportunities this can alleviate transportation or other resource concerns.

 

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