Archive: Around Town

The Cornell Public Service Center (PSC), partnering with the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI) and The Ithaca City School District (ISCD) has been granted a NYS Department of Education Science Technology Entry Program (STEP) grant to provide pre-college support for 99 low income and/or underrepresented minority students in grades 7-12 in the Ithaca City School District on their path to college and careers in STEM fields and the licensed professions.
 
The grant will provide just under $200,000/year for five years, to hire additional professional staff and student tutors to provide academic enrichment in science and mathematics content areas and college application support with the aim of increasing the number of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students prepared to enter college, and improve their participation rate in mathematics, science, technology, health related fields and the licensed professions.
 
The program at the PSC will work to connect students with local community agencies for job skills, academic support, college application assistance, tutoring/mentoring opportunities and opportunities to explore Cornell campus and resources as well as resources of other colleges. Instruction will focus on:

• Supervised practical training
• Supervised research training
• College admissions counseling
• Standardized tests preparation
• Career awareness/development activities

"I am looking forward to the collaboration with Cornell University and others to provide academic skill-building, mentoring, and other STEM related experiences to our young people." said ICSD Principal, Dr. Luvelle Brown when told about the successful grant application.
 
The STEP program is slated to launch in late September, or early October once the staffing is in place. Two full time positions will be posted this summer on the Cornell Jobs website.
 
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