Local community colleges have received PAsmart Advancing Grants to expand access to computer science and STEM education for Pennsylvania learners.

Over the next decade, seven in 10 new jobs in Pennsylvania will require workers to use computers and new technologies.

Projects funded by the PAsmart Advancing Grants include CS and STEM after-school programs in robotics and artificial intelligence; the establishment of innovative STEM partnerships between school districts and higher education partners to provide college credits and industry credentials in STEM and Computer Science; support for diversity and inclusion on esports teams in high-need areas; establishing innovation hubs through collaborations with community colleges, city parks, and libraries to help underserved learners build STEM and computer science skills; establishing mentorships to expose underrepresented learners to STEM careers; and opportunities for rural, urban and suburban students to gain hands-on experience in coding and robotics.

Lehigh Carbon Community College and Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 received a $500,000 grant for the “Carbon-Schuylkill-Luzerne STEM Ecosystem.”

This initiative builds an ecosystem with 38 school districts to promote CS and STEM education. The partners are cultivating a regional approach to hands-on, inquiry-based CS/STEM education by developing a “Model Makerspace Roadmap,” establishing 11 model CS and STEM makerspaces that can serve as spaces for teacher professional development.