New America Media

In an interview, Level Playing Field Institute (LPFI) director Sumaiya Talukdar discusses the Bay Area nonprofit's efforts to help students of color pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). LPFI offers low-income students of color a three-year summer program beginning in ninth grade through which they take math and science courses at Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Southern California, and University of California, Los Angeles. Students who participate in the program go on to become STEM majors in college at twice the national average rate. LPFI is working to increase computer science instruction in the Oakland Unified School District, and is organizing hackathons to raise student interest in the subject. Talukdar says that in the hackathons, students with minimal experience created mobile apps to address challenges in their community, with impressive results. "These are not students that traditionally have access to computer science but could really utilize computer science to help their communities or themselves in some way," she says. "Silicon Valley wants diverse candidates because diverse candidates think of diverse ideas and solutions." Talukdar says the greatest challenge in convincing students that they can participate in computer science is the lack of early exposure to technology. To read further, please visit http://newamericamedia.org/trending/2014/01/qa-creating-access-to-stem-education-for-students-of-color.php.