Do you want to make a difference in the lives of elementary school children in Baltimore?
Can you commit to 3 hours every 2 to 3 weeks either between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. or between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. on either Mondays or Wednesdays from now until May?
You can do this by signing up to volunteer with SABES–STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools—as an after-school mentor. You'll be assigned to an elementary school's 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade after-school class, which will have up to 15 students. A trained facilitator will be leading the kids in fun, hands-on STEM activities and engineering design challenges. All you need to do is be friendly and supportive while the kids struggle through the engineering design process for 2 hours. You'll be part cheerleader, part STEM expert, part mentor (they may not know anyone else who has gone to college or grad school). We send 2 mentors (sign up with a friend!) out each week, and the mentors go to the same school and grade every time. They rotate with other pairs of mentors so that the kids have 2 mentors every week. You'll also be asked to attend one of two STEM Recognition Events at the end of each semester where the kids get to showcase their projects to their parents and friends.
To sign up, please fill out this form and have your faculty adviser sign it.
Or just email me and ask whatever questions you have. After-school programming is scheduled to start this week and next, so we'd like to hear from you this week.
More info: The STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) program is looking for grad students, faculty, and postdocs to serve as science-engineering mentors in our after-school program for kids in grades 3-5. SABES is a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary project implemented by the Johns Hopkins schools of Engineering and Education, along with the Baltimore City Public School system, and after-school providers and Community Development Corporations in various underserved neighborhoods in Baltimore City.
This is a great way to inspire a youngster to follow in your footsteps, make a difference in the community, practice your communication skills, and get off campus and see other parts of Baltimore.
For more info about mentoring see http://engineering.jhu.edu/sabes/get-involved/jhu-mentor/, a short (4:47 min) video about the after-school program with interviews with JHU mentors and with 3rd-to-5th graders.
For more info about SABES overall, see http://engineering.jhu.edu/sabes/about-sabes/, a short (3:17) video about the SABES program at the STEM Recognition Event last spring at the National Museum of Science. Interviews of 3rd-to-5th graders, teachers and parents as well as the PI for the grant.
