Working STEM professionals and STEM college students know the value that early education has in facilitating rewarding subsequent career paths. Yet national indicators of math proficiency among middle school students are reflecting historic lows, suggesting that students in grades 6-8 must rely on organizations and individuals outside of their under-resourced schools to intervene with assistance, such as math tutoring programs. The last time the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicated an average 13-year-old math proficiency rating as low as current markers was in 1990. Luckily, there is a way to help these students improve their skills. Online math tutoring is a way for STEM professionals and STEM college students to make a genuine impact in the lives of middle school math students, and in the future success of U.S. STEM industries. Becoming an online math tutor offers invaluable rewards, and connects STEM professionals and college students with middle school math students who truly benefit from the boost in skills and confidence that they receive when they work with a STEM tutor. “It’s not only a fun challenge to teach students skills that will hopefully change their futures for the better, but it’s so rewarding to watch them learn and grow into the best versions of themselves,” says Poulumi Bannerjee, who has tutored middle school students.
Bannerjee is a STEMx tutor with EnCorps, a non-profit organization that connects STEM professionals, STEM college students and STEM experts with public school students in an effort to close the education and achievement gaps that exist in today’s under-resourced public schools.
Designed for middle school students who may not have equitable access to a high-quality STEM education, EnCorps’ STEMx Tutors Program aims to increase math proficiency and to increase middle school students’ confidence in math by offering online math tutoring for one hour, twice a week. As a STEM professional or college student, you have the opportunity to share your passion for math with middle school students who may not have equitable access to a high-quality STEM education.
For middle school students in underserved public schools, having a math tutor or mentor can mean the critical difference between feeling confident in their math capabilities, and that they belong in STEM, or remaining undereducated in this core subject, and being less likely to pursue STEM related opportunities in their future. Many students discover a real passion for STEM after exposure to a subject that they might never have explored without an involved STEM tutor or teacher.
EnCorps’ mission is to connect highly effective STEM tutors with public school students, to counter the systemic injustice preventing children in under-resourced communities from accessing a high-quality STEM education. If you are a STEM college student or STEM professional, your STEM training could be a life changing asset to a young math student, and repay you lifelong dividends via a sense of purpose. While EnCorps’ STEMx Tutors Program is unpaid, making a real difference and contributing to the legacy that will shape the future of U.S. STEM industries is priceless.
For more information about the EnCorps STEMx Tutors Program, visit https://encorps.org/tutor/.