Ten New Host Sites Help Expand Impact Of Makers + Mentors Network
Many students are discouraged from pursuing STEM and making careers because they do not know anyone who works in STEM and making fields. Students don’t understand what STEM and making professionals do and don't know how these careers impact their everyday lives. The Makers + Mentors Network Maker Fellow program is designed to connect K-12 students to new, disruptive learning opportunities that help students build the academic and social-emotional skills key to their success in school, post-secondary enrollment, and workforce placement. We are adding ten new locations in four new states, and with a growing number of HBCUs and our first tribal college partner as host sites.
Maker Fellows commit to a year of public service as AmeriCorps VISTA members. They develop maker-centered learning and act as conduits for under-served students. Fellows work in capacity-building roles through service in their local communities and participation in targeted professional development. They implement new maker-centered learning programming, partner with school districts to redesign high school Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways, and stand up local communities of practice for faculty and educators. Bringing more opportunities to students, specifically for girls, students from low-income communities, and students of color, is key to ensuring students' economic and social success and their local communities.
The first cohort of Maker Fellows began their service in August 2020. This past fall we ran an invitation-only application process within our network of partners to host Maker Fellows. We received a tremendous response for the field, with more than double the number of requested positions than the number of positions we received from AmeriCorps VISTA. As a result, we're growing the program to reach more sites.
University of the District of Columbia (HBCU), Washington, DC
Fab Foundation, Boston, MA
GALA Community Center DBA Makers Mill, Wolfeboro, NH
Durham Technical Community College, Durham, NC
Forward Cities, Durham, NC
Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, NM
Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE), Dayton, OH
Roane State Community College, Harriman, TN
UTeach Maker, Austin, TX
Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College, Moorefield, WV
As part of the program, Fellows will deepen their expertise in specific areas most needed by their host sites and share this knowledge with colleagues and community partners. Notable host sites include goals to:
Identify and support stronger programs for conducting K-12 and undergraduate STEM education and outreach efforts.
Build collaborative partnership of STEM-focused organizations dedicated to addressing and prioritizing STEM talent in the US.
Broaden STEM literacy and develop a diverse and agile workforce with technical excellence.
Promote increased participation of underserved groups.
Below is a snapshot of a few of our new host sites for next year. You can also learn more about all of the 2021–22 Maker Fellow Host sites on the Makers + Mentors Network website.
University of the District of Columbia (HBCU)
Location: Washington, DC
UDC CAUSES is piloting a virtual community makerspace in response to both the University's Equity Imperative 2022 (strengthening community links, charting pathways between education and employment, creating environments conducive to learning) as well as the current demand as the result of the pandemic for collaborative learning and engagement, especially directed to local youth. The UDC virtual makerspace team works with local public agencies and nonprofit organizations, and community members to identify areas of demand and increase school engagement in the virtual makerspace. This includes local middle and high schools to ensure our offerings' robust utility and connect K-12 learners with post-secondary learning opportunities and post-secondary learners with workforce opportunities, including STEM offerings.
Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE)
Location: Dayton, OH
SOCHE Engage collaborates with higher education institutions, industry, and community partners to provide critical maker-centered career exploration opportunities for K12 students to prepare them to successfully transition from high school to the workforce, military, or advance education programs. These opportunities include multiple in-school, after-school, and experiential learning engagements. The program manager will work with K12 schools, many of which are military-connected, to identify needs for strengthening current maker-centered programming and create new workforce education opportunities via crucial partnerships and unique programming.
Durham Technical Community College
Location: Durham, NC
Durham Technical Community College is currently building out a Makerspace at the college. The Makers Space will support STEM and building and skilled trades programs. It will also contribute to the College's efforts to reject the monoculture that tends to dominate makerspaces and instead create a space rooted in equity and inclusion. The existence of a Makerspace at the college will offer students greater access to equipment, additional programming, and one another. The space will bring students together through making, strengthening those relationships inside and outside of the classroom. The Durham Technical Community College student population consists of those underserved in the community; this space will provide access to space to work in and tools necessary to complete projects that may not be otherwise available. These resources will provide students with added confidence and new opportunities with hands-on learning spread across a few program areas, each with its own set of partnerships and assets. This space will help deepen those partnerships, as well as grow new ones.
Forward Cities
Location: Durham, NC
The Forward Cities Maker Fellow will work to develop city-specific programming for those interested in entrepreneurship. This will be centered around pathway development for existing teenage makers to think about how to advance an idea for a small business that ties in their skill set. The Fellow will work with established stakeholders in a growing number of cities that have existing joint partnerships to share maker startup resources and grow capacity to connect with entrepreneurial support organizations and these efforts.
Interested in serving as a Maker Fellow VISTA?
Maker Fellow VISTAs will be placed with host sites across the country and will become team members of Citizen Schools’ national field-building division, Makers + Mentors Network.