The unit I am planning in YNHTI this year is for an integrated physical science class for freshmen at Cooperative Arts and Humanities Magnet High School (Co-op). The class is made up of mostly freshmen, but has a few upperclassmen who need to repeat the class for course credit. The class is a graduation requirement for students enrolled at Co-op, and is currently being revamped to accommodate the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) recently adopted by Connecticut. The students in this class are from the whole spectrum of demographics in New Haven and the surrounding towns. Some, but not all, are invested and engaged in their education, and some of them can read at grade level, and are proficient in 9th grade math, but many are not. Most of the school is African-American, and it is 70% female, both groups are historically underrepresented in STEM careers. Many of the students are from low income households, have unstable home lives, and do not have access to adults who have prepared them to be successful in a rigorous college preparatory school like Co-op. Most of the students plan to go on to college at the conclusion of their four years at Co-op, but all are expected to have an attainable career pathway when they graduate. The school’s focus is on fine and performing arts, but it also has a heavy emphasis on academics, which include a strong AP community and college-bound culture. It is my job to demystify science, and help those that are interested to become more capable science students, so they can be informed, skeptical, conscientious voters, who take advantage of opportunities in STEM in their careers and communities.
