STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings

STEM-OPS is an NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Alliance working to improve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning opportunities in prisons and supporting access to STEM (broadly defined) for those who are directly impacted by the carceral system.

Our Vision: All persons impacted by the carceral system are able, and encouraged, to pursue a culturally responsive and equitable high-quality STEM education and career.

The sySTEM Impacted Podcast

A podcast developed by the STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings (STEM-OPS) NSF-funded project highlighting the need for STEM opportunities made available to the directly impacted both inside and outside of correctional facilities, and how these opportunities have changed the lives of the directly impacted.Music

Prod. by: Wayne “Mport-P” Carroll Jr for Presidential Block Development Group (PBDG)

WHAT DO THESE FACTS MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT?

FACTS ABOUT STEM

While women constitute almost 50% of the labor market, there are only 28% of women in STEM fields as opposed to 72% of men.

FACTS ABOUT INCARCERATION

Women’s incarceration has grown at twice the pace of men’s incarceration in recent decades, and has disproportionately been located in local jails.

Why STEM?

STEM education in the United States offers access to in-demand, well-paying jobs, including but not limited to civic participation, entrepreneurship, policy, and social sciences.
Not only are STEM jobs plentiful in the United States these days, but they also usually pay better than non-STEM jobs, helping people build better lives for themselves and their families.

Why STEM in prisons?

Access to STEM jobs is not equal for everyone. Over the past 25 years, prison education programs that teach STEM skills have been cut, effectively preventing individuals who are incarcerated from entering the STEM workforce after they have served their sentences. The lack of investment in prison education is evidence that systemic racism continues to shape educational and economic realities in the United States.

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