This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Morgan State University, in collaboration with W. E. B. Dubois High School for Environmental Science at Baltimore, is working to increase the diversity in geosciences for underrepresented students in Baltimore City, Maryland. 95% of the student body at W. E. B. Dubois High is African American. This project will ensure a consistent, supportive and sustainable pathway from high school to university in the geoscience disciplines through an array of integrated activities: Environmental science curriculum between W. E. B. Dubois High and Morgan State University will be revised and aligned to ensure a seamless transition from high school to college. Hands-on teacher workshops at Morgan State University Estuarine Research Center (ERC) will be offered to provide high school teachers necessary knowledge and experience in environmental education that can be transferred to classroom teaching. Large numbers of students and teachers will also be engaged in inquiry-based field trips focused on environmental issues related to the Chesapeake Bay. Finally, a summer intern program at ERC will further provide mentored research experience to students with geosciences interests and potential. It is expected that this project will impact more than 300 underrepresented high school and college students, and promote a pathway to geoscience careers through activities that can eventually be institutionalized and sustained.
