Pa. STEM center made possible by Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation

STEM careers can lead students to earn higher salaries, but it isn’t always accessible for all children to pursue STEM programs or careers.

“Most Americans believe K-12 STEM education in the United States is either average or below average compared with other wealthy nations,” according to an April 2024 Pew Research Center survey.

The study also revealed that “recent global standardized test scores show that students in the U.S. are, in fact, lagging behind their peers in other wealthy nations when it comes to math,” but are doing better than average in science compared with pupils in other countries.

The foundation is for all students but it places centers in neighborhoods handpicked because they don’t have access to technology education or abundant financial resources. Ripken Jr. explained, “A lot of our centers are in rural (or inner-city) areas.”

Joe Rossow, executive vice president of STEM and outcome measurements at the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, noted that “rural areas don’t have that tax base… it’s hard for them to get new equipment, and new furniture and new things.”

In a 2021 report, Pew research also revealed that “Black and Hispanic workers remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce compared with their share of all workers.” The research stated that while women make up half of those employed in STEM jobs, most are in health-related careers. Women are underrepresented in other occupations, according to the report.

The foundation aims to help level the field and alter the stigma that prevents students from entering STEM-related careers. Rossow said they have seen an increase in girls showing interest in their STEM center programs. An analysis of application data from students in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Maryland found that 60% of female students had a higher increase in STEM engagement, 53% of female students had a higher percentage of STEM enjoyment and 50% of female students’ chances increased to enter STEM careers.

“Some of our female students had an increase in critical thinking as problem solvers and after that study, we didn’t realize it (the centers) really had an impact on our female engineers,” Rossow said.

The foundation’s mission is to partner with youth-serving organizations and schools across the country to provide educational life skills curriculum.

A mission that Ripken Sr. believed in wholeheartedly, according to Ripken Jr.

In Pennsylvania, STEM centers have opened at Saint Aloysius Parish School in Pottstown, Scott Sixth Grade Center in Coatesville, Delta-Peach Bottom Elementary in Delta, Robert K. Shafer Middle School in Bensalem, Feltonville School of Arts & Sciences and Avery Harrington School in Philadelphia.

The organization plans to open more centers in the future.