A household survey by Michigan’s Afterschool Alliance shows 88% of Kent County parents with kids in afterschool programs say STEM learning is offered but more than four in five parents who want afterschool programs do not have their children enrolled.
“It's not that there aren't STEM programs, but do the kids have access to them?”
Dr. Keli Christopher is CEO of STEM Greenhouse in Grand Rapids, a nonprofit offering afterschool and summer programming for K-12 students in school settings to prepare for future careers.
“Even if you don't go directly into a STEM career, science and math and technology are just a part of our everyday lives. So, even if you're not developing the technology, you're going to be utilizing it.”
Christopher notes the findings show parents value STEM programs and want them for their children, but access remains an issue for students in rural communities and low-income families.
“Let's just say there is a program. It's not at the child's school. How are they going to get there, if you are a parent and you're working from 9 to 5? So now just having the program doesn't mean that your child has access to it. And then there's other barriers like costs.”
The Kent County findings mostly mirror national survey results including that parents prioritize STEM and computer science more as children age from elementary to high school.
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