Computing MATTERS Program to Provide Explorations for East Durham Youth
DURHAM, N.C. — June 26, 2009 — This week, Shodor's Computing MATTERS Program was formally approved as a FY10 recipient of $10,000 in funding from Durham County's Nonprofit Agency Funding Program.
With this funding and matching support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Shodor's Computing MATTERS program will bring interactive mathematics and science activities to youth and teens at a total of four existing afterschool program sites in East Durham.
East Durham was central to Shodor's proposal because it is a geographic area selected as the focus of a project called "East Durham Youth Initiative," modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone.
Durham County Commissioner Ellen Reckhow stated in a May 5, 2009 article in the Herald-Sun that the East Durham Youth Initiative is designed to "create a continuum of support from birth through high school graduation that will lead to children being successful."
The core goal of Computing MATTERS is to provide a variety of activities and experiences to excite and broaden participation of underrepresented K-12th grade youth in science, math and technology careers. This program will increase computer skills for young students and provide opportunities to explore math and science in a way that is not normally available to them.
"Even though scholarships are available to help deserving students to participate in Shodor's workshops at the Durham Centre, transportation can still be a problem," explained Dr. Robert M. Panoff, founder and Executive Director of Shodor.
"We are grateful to the Commissioners for their support that enables us to bring our hands-on and computing approaches to science and math into the county at schools, community centers, and faith-based organizations," he added.
This grant from Durham County, along with matching funds from NSF, will provide training for teachers at each site. In addition, it will provide on-site guidance from Shodor's staff along with selected apprentices and interns from Durham high schools and universities, trained to support the effort. Together, on-site teachers and trained Shodor representatives will provide opportunities to enrich the extended school day model for the students at each site.
Shodor will also seek to enlist the participation of students from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), by working with them to identify undergraduate science, math and education majors who want to apply their community service hours to working with these three schools. Shodor will provide all training and participation costs from the NSF matching funds.
Shodor has already begun preliminary plans with Durham Public Schools to coordinate the training of afterschool staff and classroom teachers.
In addition to the afterschool programs through DPS, Shodor will continue to use its existing funding to sustain its efforts in other Durham Parks and Recreation projects such as WD Hill, in the same zone.
Shodor is actively seeking additional funding and community partnerships to further its outreach efforts through Computing MATTERS. For additional information, contact Patricia Jacobs, Associate Director of Shodor, at pjacobs@shodor.org.
http://www.shodor.org/cyberpathways/
http://www.shodor.org/about/
Mary Paisley, Communications Coordinator, (919) 452-5334, mpaisley@shodor.org