STEP reaches out to area youth

Since 1885, kids have dreamed of becoming Jackets, and now, thanks to the Student and Teacher Enhancement Partnership program (STEP), some Atlanta area kids are well on their way to achieving that very goal.

STEP is a special program at Tech that collaborates with local high schools to enhance the learning styles of their students, in hopes that one day they will walk up Freshman Hill. Seven metro Atlanta schools, including Tri-Cities High, Marietta High and the Rockdale Magnet School, participate in the program.

"[Our goals are] to improve the teaching-related, communication and leadership skills of participating Georgia Tech students, [while using] the exceptional scholarly expertise available at [Tech] to assist the local metro-Atlanta area school systems in increasing the mathematics, science and engineering performance of high school students," said STEP director Dr. Donna Llewellyn.

Both undergraduate and graduate students are involved in the program: graduate students are called fellows and undergraduate students are referred to as interns. Groups of fellows and interns travel to the various schools participating in the program and work with students and faculty to improve their study skills and promote good academic habits.

The fellows try to promote math, science and engineering in schools that may not have otherwise offered those classes to their students. Many urban schools are underprivileged and lack the faculty and resources to offer chemistry or higher-level math classes, so the fellows from Tech teach classes there.

Tri-Cities High School has had a unique opportunity with the STEP program, however; they have instituted an after-school program that offers additional help to the students who are interested. The fellows who teach classes at the school stay late every Wednesday and help the students work on additional projects that pique the interest of young scientists.

"They would work on [problem solving activities] like building a bridge or designing a solar-powered car," said Leanne Metcalfe from the Health Information Systems office.

High school students are often eager to learn in a creative way. The fellows work with the students in the after school program on things such as SAT prep questions, math problems and study habits.

Additionally, the fellows have begun helping the high school seniors complete their college applications. Tech recently sent a representative from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to explain to the students the advantages of starting early on applications.

The students are given the chance to take college-like courses before they get to college. The fellows teach students classes like they would find at Tech, such as engineering design. Several of the students from Tri-Cities high recently wrote papers with the STEP program that made it to publication in a nationally renowned chemistry magazine.

A group of the students involved formed a team and competed in the local Trimathalon math competition last fall. The students made it all the way to the regional competition. Currently, the students are busy planning and assembling a team for this year's competition, which is to be held at the end of this month.

Tech also sponsors an event for kids, which these students are eager to be involved in.

Moreover, Tech is gaining a potential student with each high-school student who joins this group. The intention of the STEP program is to get students used to drafting and engineering concepts that may use in college. Almost every student who is involved in this program has chosen Tech as his/her college of choice.

"We assign fellows from all kinds of backgrounds because most of the urban schools are made up of minorities," said Metcalfe.

The STEP program serves as a liaison between high school students and college students. They offer insight about how to survive at a new, challenging school, and they work with the students to spike their interest in careers they can pursue at Tech.

STEP accepts applications for undergraduate interns and graduate fellows every year. The applications can be found on their web site: www.cetl.gatech.edu/services/step/program.htm.