STEMCAP outlines eight years of STEM and arts workshops for justice-impacted youth; contract renewal to appear on consent calendar
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Summary
Representatives from the University of Utah’s STEM Community Alliance, known as STEMCAP, presented to the Utah State Board of Education on the program’s multi-year STEM and arts work with justice-impacted youth and said the board will see a contract-renewal request on the consent calendar before the end of the fiscal year.
Representatives from the University of Utah’s STEM Community Alliance, known as STEMCAP, presented the program’s work to the Utah State Board of Education during the board’s November meeting and described a mix of science, art and career-readiness programming for justice-impacted youth.
"Our vision is to provide high quality science arts classes, workshops, and mentorship opportunities to justice impacted youth in Utah," said Andy Eisen, director of prison education at the University of Utah.
STEMCAP leaders told the board the program began in 2016 and has delivered more than 750 workshops to youth in custody centers across Utah. They said more than 200 university and community scientists have provided workshops and that the program ran more than 230 workshops inside youth facilities in the most recent year.
Molly Hosmer Dillard, STEMCAP’s art manager, described collaborative and exhibition work that gives participants opportunities to display art publicly. She said students produced pieces for exhibitions at the Gittins Gallery at the University of Utah and that some student work was included in a Harvard exhibition called Beyond the Bars. STEMCAP staff also described a "We Are All Water" project (about drought and pollution in the Great Salt Lake Basin) that involved roughly 130 young people and a sustainable gardening series on indigenous agricultural practices at Mill Creek Youth Center.
Presenters described work intended to connect participants to college and career options. Examples cited included a 16-part Python programming series led by University of Utah instructor Aaron Wood, on-site internships with mechanical engineering faculty (Dr. Jake Hocalter) and summer internship placements in university labs. STEMCAP said it partners with community organizations including Tracy Aviary, NASA, the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA), the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) and the NBA Foundation to expand workshop opportunities.
Kelsey James, board communications coordinator, asked STEMCAP representatives to introduce staff; Benjie (a USBE staff member introduced by Kelsey) identified team members including Amanda Charlesworth (program specialist, Check and Connect), Julia Armstrong (educational specialist) and David Salome (education specialist). Benjie told the board STEMCAP’s contract with the board is in its final year. "It'll expire at the end of this fiscal year. So in a couple months, you should see on your consent calendar me asking to renew that contract," the staff member said, noting the agency will present a renewal request for board action.
Board members and staff praised the program’s sustained reach and the role of arts programming in building confidence for youth at low points in their lives. Several members emphasized the program’s potential to spark interest in college and careers, and to provide experiences — field trips, summer programming and internships — that might not otherwise be available to youth in custody.
No formal contract vote or board decision occurred at the meeting; STEMCAP representatives and board staff framed the session as an informational presentation and notified the board that a formal renewal request would be placed on a future consent calendar for board consideration.
