Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Adams.
Jacob, before we jump into specific questions about your organization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My education journey began as a Teach For America corps member. I taught the first-grade teacher in Brownsville, Brooklyn. My school was one of the highest performing schools in NYC, despite being in a high-poverty community where over 95% of our students received free or reduced lunch. Given these dynamics, throughout the course of a school year, well over 75 educators from all over the nation would come to observe our school, so they could take our “best practices” back to their schools and communities.
This troubled me because our students were rarely if ever exposed to real-world problems, given the space to be creative, learn STEAM-based skills such as coding or engineer design, or given the opportunity to work collaboratively to solve problems. It’s a travesty that for kids growing up in underserved communities, this type of institution is a “model” school. Our students received an education that first and foremost taught them how to be test-takers, not liberators. How can we expect their generation to create solutions to problems like climate change, clean water, and food deserts if we aren’t exposing them to these issues and helping them develop the skills and mindsets needed to address them?
I moved on to teach in Harlem were one of my colleagues, Alexandra Gwynn, piloted a hands-on ed-tech program. In Alexandra’s classes, my kids were learning how to code using robots, had international pen pals, and created a community garden on the roof. Additionally, they were learning how to communicate with another, think critically, and solve problems. Seeing how engaged and excited the kids were, I began to re-imagine what education should be.
After teaching in Harlem, I moved to LA where I was coaching and supporting teachers throughout the city. Across the several schools, I supported I saw students receiving an educational experience that heavily prioritized standardized tests. Consequently, students were not learning in ways that introduce them to relevant technology such as 3d design, coding, engineering, or graphic design. Additionally, students were not seeing how they could apply their learning to real-world problems.
This is why I started STEM to the Future. Our mission is to inspire and motivate Black and Latinx youth ages 4-11 to be creative, critical thinkers who use STEAM to develop solutions to real-world problems such as climate change, sustainable communities, environmental racism, and clean water.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The journey hasn’t been easy, especially given I had limited business skills before starting STEM to the Future. I’ve had tremendous support from friends and family. I’ve also grown a lot as a person, leader, and entrepreneur thanks to 4.0 Schools Essentials and Tiny fellowships. I’d also like to shoutout 9 Dots, Ken Johnson, and Carson Accounting and Consulting. They’ve all played a large role in helping me develop my entrepreneurial skills. We’re creating a non-profit that is not reliant on grants and primarily functions on a fee for service programming. This is not typical for many non-profits, but we’ve had success thus far.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Currently, we have three main programs, Planting the Seed and For the Greater Good.
Our Planting the Seed programs allow us to push into schools during the school day or after-school and deliver our programming. We are currently serving over 800 students at five LA elementary schools. 5th-grade students in Inglewood are learning about gentrification as they design and build models of what they want to see in the neighborhood. Additionally, they are creating a podcast episode that will highlight everything they’ve learned about Inglewood, gentrification, and housing rights. Students at Alta Loma Elementary are currently learning how to code while learning about global warming. In their next unit, students will learn about types of energy, air quality, and clean water. Students at Escuela Plus are currently learning HTML as they build websites about the local activist.
Through our For the Greater Good program we train, support, and provide a curriculum to educators and after-school providers. Through FTGG we are serving over 1000 youth in the LA area. We are currently partnered with Think Together, After-School All-Stars, City Year, Libertas, and San Jacinto school district. We are training educators and instructional support staff on how to deliver engaging and liberatory computer science instruction. Currently, students are learning about game design as they build a game that teaches people to reduce their carbon footprint. From there, students use game design principles to develop their own game they think will have a positive impact on the community. In an upcoming unit, students will use 3d design as they prototype a model clean energy vehicle.
Our Brick by Brick program allows to connect with the community through events such as pop-ups, workshops at the LA County Library, or partnerships with other youth-serving LA organizations. We’ve hosted over 50 workshops with the LA County Library hosting workshops that range from robotics competitions, intro to coding lessons, stop motion, and building sustainable cities.
The main difference between other STEM/STEAM orgs and STEM to the Future is our focus on using STEAM as a means of liberation rather than workforce development or simply providing access. STTF exposes students to various STEAM pathways and immediately helps them see how they can be used to have a positive impact on their community. Climate Strikes and Gun Reform, two of the biggest mass movements right now, are led or co-led by the youth. STTF programs are showing students that they have the capacity to be leaders and changemakers in their community even as children. We use STEAM as vehicle because it encompasses a variety of engaging and technologically relevant pathways for youth. Further, we believe technology is a tool that can be used to uplift or exploit. We want our students to recognize this and be able to use tech as a tool for the greater good and recognize and intervene when they notice it is being used to exploit.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We look forward to maintaining and strengthening our current partnerships. Right now we have students throughout LA discovering their passions within STEAM and using them for the greater good of the community. The thing I am most excited about right now is curriculum development. The team is creating an engaging curriculum that helps students learn about topics such as gentrification, wildfires, public transportation, and nutrition. As we implement the curriculum in our schools we will be able to refine and improve it. From there, we will be able to train teachers and after-school providers on how to implement this curriculum in their communities. I believe this approach allows us to scale responsibly and allows the people who know their communities best to tailor the curriculum and learning experience to meet the needs of their students.
Contact Info:
- Website: stemtothefuture.com
- Phone: 706-288-5705
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/stemtothefuture
- Facebook: facebook.com/stemtothefuture
- Twitter: twitter.com/stemtothefuture
Image Credit:
STEM to the Future took all photos.
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