Imagine Science and the Power of Collaboration:
A coalition of national youth-serving organizations
bringing STEM to scale

imaginesci.org

Imagine Science: the Power ofCollaboration
Careers in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology areamong the fastest growing and most rewarding professions intoday’s economy. But for many of the nation’s underserved youth,
these opportunities can seem far out of reach.
In 2014, four of the nation’s largest youth-serving organizations—Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girls Inc., the National 4-H Council,
and the YMCA of the USA—joined forces to launch Imagine
Science. Their mission is to build excitement and confidence inyoung people from low-income communities in pursuing STEM
careers. To date, partners working in eleven communities
nationwide have brought Imagine Science to over 25,000 youth.
The effort is getting results—67 percent of participating students
showed an increase in their enthusiasm for STEM learning in thepast year, according to surveys, and almost half said they wereinterested in pursuing a STEM career.
Getting kids excited about STEM takes high-quality programs, andthe secret to delivering them, partners say, is a high and often
unprecedented level of collaboration across organizations. “It’s
more brains, more ideas, more innovation, more scale andimpact,” explained Dominique Jones, executive director of Boys
& Girls Clubs of Harlem.

Thinking Deeply About STEM
Sharing curricula is one of the most common ways that partners
collaborate. When Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove in Orange
County, California, joined Imagine Science in 2014, "we wereinterested in STEM but not sure how to go about running a STEM
program and what a quality program looked like," said Heather
White, the program development director. “So we really benefited
from the expertise of Girls Inc. which had been doing STEM for along time and 4-H which had been doing STEM for decades."Sharing curricula also makes it possible to collaborate on training
for youth workers, as partners in some communities have done.
Girls Inc. of Orange County recently trained youth workers at
nearby Imagine Science sites on its robotics program. Boys & Girls
Clubs of Garden Grove, meanwhile, trained nearby YMCA staff on
the DIY (Do It Yourself) STEM curriculum developed by Boys &Girls Clubs of America.

Ryan and Joshua, Eight Years Old

Joshua, a third-grader enrolled
at the Boys & Girls Clubs ofHuntington Valley, California,
had trouble getting along withhis peers. “Because of his
hyperactivity, he would
dominate conversations,” said
Ryan Brenes, unit director of the
Huntington Beach Branch. “Hewould talk over people.”
Last fall, Joshua beganattending Imagine Science on
Wednesday afternoons at his
club.
At first, small group projects
were a struggle. But over time,
watching how other students
worked together—contributing
ideas, talking them over,compromising, coordinating
their efforts—gave him a model
for successful collaboration,
Brenes believes.
“I think slowly he realized that ‘I
can’t do this by myself. I have tolisten to my groupmates.’” By
the end of ten weeks of Imagine
Science, he was able to listen
respectfully and willing tocompromise.
At the final showcase, he
proudly displayed a popsiclestick bridge his group hadengineered to bear weight, said
Brenes. “It was a great momentfor him.”2

Thinking Deeply About STEM (continued)
Youth workers generally "don't have the wealth of knowledge about STEM,” White said, "butthrough the professional development, the staff has been trained on how to create authentic
STEM experiences.”That means that instead of following a proscribed series of steps, she said, students are the ones doing thethinking. “Students have a say in how the experiment is carried out. They are designing and testing a productthey build. Staff are asking open-ended questions, and youth are thinking more deeply about science
concepts." Because of the shared curricula, partners were also able to purchase “some really great robotics kits
and laptops to share across agencies,” that each alone otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford, White said.

Social-Emotional Growth through STEM
Becoming familiar with the curricula that other organizations designed can give partners ideas
on how to improve their own, said Andres Garcia, senior manager of programs for Boys & Girls Clubs ofGreater Houston. His organization was especially impressed by the Girls Inc. Operation Smart curriculum, hesaid, and the way that it integrated social-emotional learning with STEM. Through hands-on STEM projects,
instructors developed girls' confidence by encouraging them to take risks and persevere as they solved
challenging problems. In Colorado, Imagine Science partners found an unexpected benefit from collaboratingon curriculum not only across organizations but across urban
and rural locations. Girls Inc. serves students in Denver while
Colorado State University Extension 4-H serves rural counties"The combination of SEL [socialon its outskirts. Program leaders worked together on
emotional learning] and STEM wascurriculum that examined water management, air quality, andsomething we had never thought
food production from both urban and rural perspectives. One
about…Seeing how they
project, for example, had students grow edible plants inwater—a food production technique called aquaponics,
combined them was an eye
suitable for an urban basement or warehouse. As a result of theopener for us for how we canpartnership, young people in each area arrived at a deeper
incorporate SEL into more of ourunderstanding of the science concepts and their real-life
programs.”
applications, said Wade Ingle, Colorado’s 4-H STEM specialist.

– Andres Garcia, Boys & Girls Clubsof Greater Houston“Each partner has good things
they bring to the table.
Collaboration allowed me to go
outside the box and add things I
normally wouldn’t haveconsidered.”– Wade Ingle, Colorado 4-H STEM
Specialist

Working together helps good ideas to spread, Imagine
Science partners find. In Orange County, Boys & Girls Clubsof Garden Grove held an Imagine Science parent night for
students to showcase their STEM projects at the end of a weeklong summer camp. It was an unexpected hit, said White.
As a result, the Imagine Science Orange County partners
pursued and won a grant to fund more family events including
showcases, field-trips, and family nights with hands-on STEM
activities. “The goal is to help parents or caregivers understandthe value of STEM for their children and increase the likelihoodthat they will access STEM learning in school and out-of-schoolin the future,” White explained, adding that family turnout has
been high. “We’re super-impressed with parents making time
to attend these events.”3Teens as STEM Leaders
In Nebraska and New York, working together spurred an innovation in program delivery. Partners found an
exciting way to merge Imagine Science with an existing 4-H program that trains high school students to leadsummer programs for younger kids, with support from adult instructors. In Lincoln, Nebraska, and theBronx, some of these teens led Imagine Science workshops for partnering organizations.
Students at Girls Inc. were thrilled to learn from teens in their community, said Kathleen Lodl, 4-H programadministrator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. And for the teens, “It gives them a true leadership experiencethat is very unique, and they get paid, which is critical in socioeconomically challenged areas of our city,” shesaid. At the end of the summer, some teen leaders announced a new career aspiration—to become
science teachers, said Emily Mwaja, director of programs at Girls Inc. of Omaha.

Helping Each other Improve
To continually improve its programs, Imagine Science adopted a program evaluation system from The PEAR Institute(Partnerships in Education and Resilience) at Harvard University that includes student surveys and program quality
observations. Annual program evaluation includes student surveys (Common Instrument Survey) and a protocol forobserving programs in action (Dimensions of Success).

Imagine Science teams from each community analyze data, identify strengths and weaknesses, andplan improvements. The Dimensions of Success program quality allow community partners to assess each other’s
programs. Having a partner evaluate you makes the results more objective, White noted. It’s also another chance forpartners to learn from each other, she observed.

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Helping Each other Improve (continued)
Tori Cash, teen STEM coordinator for Girls Inc. of Orange County, said that when she visited Boys & Girls Clubsof Garden Grove to conduct evaluations, she was impressed by how youth workers helped kids get into theright mindset for STEM learning.
Before building structures for an earthquake simulation, instructors posed questions like, “What do you know
about earthquakes? Have you been in an earthquake before?’ Asking students to share their knowledge
focuses their thinking, builds their confidence, and gets them excited for what they’re going to do next,” said
Cash, who shared the strategy at Girls Inc.

Bonds that Benefit Youth in Challenging Times
Some partners have found ways to collaborate beyond Imagine Science, based on relationships

they built through the initiative. In Dallas, one YMCA with a safety and water team offered to provide
swimming and lifeguarding lessons at a Boys & Girls Clubs location with a pool. When a YMCA needed more
space for basketball practice, another Boys & Girls Clubs site offered its gym.
And in Nebraska, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension 4-H is providing curricula, supplies and instructors
to two Girls Inc. programs outside of Imagine Science—a food science program in Omaha and a STEM programfor 8th to 12th grade girls in Lincoln. “Being able to have that partnership with 4-H has greatly benefited ourstudents,” said Mwaja of Girls Inc. of Omaha. "At Girls Inc., we can't afford all the expertise we want our girls toaccess, especially when it comes to STEM. 4-H is really strong in STEM curriculum and in training theirfacilitators.” She credits the connections forged through Imagine Science for sparking the additional
collaboration.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Imagine Science programs are facing disruption. But working together,some partners are finding ways to keep the learning going. Partners in New York City, which include three Boys
& Girls Clubs and the 4-H Youth Development Program at Cornell University Cooperative Extension, organized
online STEM training for their youth workers. While in-person programs are cancelled, partners posted Imagine
Science activities online that parents can use at home with theirkids. The next step, said Jones of Boys & Girls Clubs of Harlem, is"Through Imagine Science, we
to videotape lessons and create interactive science games inbuild these cohesive relationships.
Google classroom. The first three Imagine science communities
By understanding how 4-H works,
are now self-sustaining. Imagine Science funds a planningwe were able to see how we alignphase for each local collaborative and then three years ofand how we might benefit each
implementation, after which they need to rely on their own
other. Imagine Science helped us
fundraising.

see what we can do together."– Emily Mwaja, Girls Inc. of Omaha

Collaboration “creates more ideas
and energy…It makes us all betterat our work.”– Kristin Kelley, VP of Development
YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas

In Dallas, one of the original Imagine Science communities,
local partners are accomplishing their fundraising goals
through a joint development team. The approach was so
successful, that their Imagine Science operating budget was
fully funded for the year by January, leaving time to raisemoney for program enrichment and begin looking ahead tonext year. Major grants included $100,000 from Verizon.
Working together made their fundraising more effective, said
Kristen Kelley, associate vice president of development for the
YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas. Collaboration “creates more ideas
and energy,” she said. “It makes us all better at our work.”

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Imaginesci.org

STEM & Beyond:

The four collaborators behind Imagine Science andtheir vast networks of distinct expertise poised forcollective impact

imaginesci.org

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF
AMERICA--COVID-19 Emergency Response: BGCA and 4,700 local Clubs
nationwide have pivoted to providing meals, healthinformation, childcare for essential workers and others,
as well as offering guidance for and delivery of distanceand virtual learning. Currently, BGCA has reopened 90
percent of sites, with 1,903 sites providing onsite andvirtual programming, 1,264 sites exclusively onsite, 1,106
sites exclusively virtual, and 101 providing alternative
services.
Equity Advancement: Given recent tragic events,
including the murder of George Floyd and otherincidents of police brutality against black men andwomen, Boys & Girls Clubs has taken a renewed focus onits founding commitment to provide all young people
with an equal opportunity for success. In response, theorganization has launched an initiative focused on
ending systemic racism and inequality throughout its
national organization and Clubs.

The mission of the Boys and Girls
Clubs of America is
To enable all young people,
especially those in most need, toreach their full potential as
productive, caring, responsible
citizens.
Their vision is to provide a worldclass Club Experience that assures
success is within reach of every
young person who enters theirdoors, with all members on track
to graduate from high school witha plan for the future,demonstrating good character andcitizenship, and living a healthy
lifestyle.

-

School & Community Partnerships: Over a third of
BGCA
C b
a
ca d school buildings.
In many cases, Boys & Girls Clubs provide after-school
services where those services have been cut. This is
BGCA aC b-

Social Emotional Development: All of the core programs supported by BGCA are mapped to socialand emotional development skills. The organization has always prioritized safety at all levels(physical, social, emotional) and is adopting a trauma-informed care model across the organization.

-

College and Career Readiness: Good Character and Leadership (formerly citizenship) has been a
c
B
G C b
a T
a a
a I
c
years, Workforce Readiness has become an even larger part of programming as Clubs are uniquely
a d
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BGCA
a a a
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c Policy Advisory Board, along with top corporate CEOs. It is thea acatheir youth graduate with a plan for the future,
which may include college or work.

YMCA

Today, the Y
Engages more than 10,000
neighborhoods across the U.S. As
e a
ead
f
committed to helping people andcommunities to learn, grow ande ea acontributions are both far-reaching
and intimate from influencing the
a
c
ed
e f
profound social change to theindividual support a local Y
provides an adult learning to read.
By empowering young people toreach their full potential,
improving individual andcommunity well-being and givingback and inspiring action incommunities, the Y ensures thateveryone has the opportunity to
become healthier, more confident,
connected, and secure.

- COVID-19 Emergency Response: Despite massive
facility closures and staff furloughs, over 1,000 Ys
mobilized nationwide to provide emergency childcare
for children of frontline professionals and essential
workers following the initial outbreak. Between Marchand August, YMCAs across the country provided meals
for 37 million food-insecure children and families.
Local Ys have also filled community gaps by offering avariety of other unique and urgent services, including
housing, senior outreach programs, blood drives,
COVID-19 testing, and virtual wellness programmingfor kids and adults.
- Equity Advancement: With nearly 20 years ofexperience operationalizing equity-based strategies,
the Y is now working to establish itself as an Anti-Racist
organization with a sweeping equity agenda focusedon developing and scaling targeted individual,organizational, and societal responses that reduce
disparities and create equitable communities.
- School & Community Partnerships: Spanninggenerations, the Y has deep-rooted connections inmore than 10,000 communities, making it one of the
U S ead c-strengthening organizations.
The Y has formal partnerships with thousands ofschools, community organizations, and local
governments nationwide to provide high-quality,
evidence-based afterschool programming focused on
finding solutions for pressing community needs.

-

Social Emotional Development: For over a century, the Y has elevated character development in its
programming and services. More than a quarter of its national network is currently participating ine Y e SEL a d a a-informed care initiative, theC a ac e De e
e Lea
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with 19,000 staff and volunteers and 215,000 youth positively impacted to date.

-

College and Career Readiness: W
b a c e acec
e Y ee eadea dacademic achievement and enrichment programs are a leading way for young people to prepare forsuccess post high school in both college and career. Further, Ys are often one of the largest
nonprofit employers of youth in their individual communities, giving hundreds of thousands ofyoung people job experience, training, certifications, and mentorship each year.

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GIRLS INC.
-

COVID-19 Emergency Response: Across the Girls Inc.
network, affiliates have mobilized to provide the services
most needed in their communities by girls and theirfamilies, including providing food and essential supplies,
access to healthcare resources, transportation, andequipment and internet access for continued schooling.
Girls Inc. affiliates also implemented a system of wellness
checks to establish and continue regular communication
with participants and their families. These checks allow
Girls Inc. staff and volunteers to assess the safety andwell-being of the girls they serve.

In partnership with schools and at
Girls Inc. centers
Girls Inc. focuses on thedevelopment of the whole girl. She
learns to value herself, take risks,and discover and develop her
inherent strengths. The
combination of long-lasting
mentoring relationships, a pro-girlenvironment, and evidence-based
programming equips girls tonavigate gender, economic, andsocial barriers, and growup healthy, educated,
and independent. Informed by girls
and their families, Girls Inc. also
advocates for legislation andpolicies to increase opportunities
and rights for all girls.

-

Equity Advancement: Through direct service andadvocacy, Girls Inc. addresses the systemic barriers that
hold girls back. Informed by the voices of girls themselves,the organization advocates for breaking through thesystemic barriers girls face and for reforming systems that
impede their success.

-School & Community Partnerships: Girls Inc. has deep
and ongoing partnerships with schools (both in- and outof-school time) and within communities that are a key
connection with girls and a primary service-delivery
strategy for the Girls Inc. network.

-

Social Emotional Development: In recent years, girls
surveyed by Girls Inc. have consistently named mental
health as one of the most important issues they face, and Girls Inc. has worked to develop resources
to help prepare facilitators to speak from a trauma-informed, youth development perspective about
mental health, and to make effective referrals where needed. Girls Inc. has heightened its focus on
mental health and social/emotional development in response to the COVID-19 crisis to ensure thatgirls receive appropriate support for trauma inflicted by the pandemic, and the effects of toxic
stress.

-College and Career Readiness: Fundamental to the work Girls Inc. does is the creation ofopportunities for girls to prepare for post- ec da
cce Gi l I c College/Career Readinessg ammi g i de ig ed b ildgi le g h a d e i hem face heemic ba iethat hold them back. It is grounded in the belief that girls have the right to prepare for interesting
work and grow up to lead inde e de li e Gi l I c C llege Ca ee Readi e b ild gi laspirations and supports them in identifying, entering, and thriving in opportunities beyond highschool.

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4-H-

COVID-19 Emergency Response: 4-H developed andlaunched a hybrid learning platform called "4-H at
Home" to deliver curriculum, trainings, andprograms to youth and their families in a noncontact PYD approach. The platform aggregates
more than 500 university-backed learning resources
for youth, parents, and educators. Additionally, it
SHOP -Hc ca dd caakits directly to youth's doorsteps. In local
communities, Cooperative Extension continues toprovide free Wi-Fi access through more than 1,000
local offices and partner with schools to deliver OST
materials on rural bus routes.

-

Equity Advancement: 4-H is the youth development
program of the nation's 110 land-grant university's
Cooperative Extension program. This public-private
partnership also includes 18 of the nation's HBCUs.
Each delivers the 4-H program locally with anemphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

-

School & Community Partnerships: Located inevery U.S. county, the 4-H program develops highquality, positive-youth-development partnerships
with local school systems. Based on local needs thisranges from in-school enrichment to after-school
programs led by youth development professionals.

-

Social Emotional Development: 4-H is scaling its
research-based "Thriving Model," which focuses on
principles of positive youth development andwhole-child concepts. In addition to longitudinal
research, the initiative involves scaling professional
development training for 3,500 professionals and
600,000 volunteers.

What is 4-H
4-H is delivered by Cooperative
Extension a community of morethan 100 public universities acrossthe nation that provides
experiences where young people
learn by doing. For more than 100
years, 4-H has welcomed young
people of all beliefs andbackgrounds, giving kids a voice toexpress who they are and how
they make their lives andcommunities better.
Through life-changing 4-H
programs, nearly six million kids
and teens have taken on criticalsocietal issues, such as addressing
community health inequities,
engaging in civil discourse andadvocating for equity and inclusion
for all.

-College and Career Readiness: 4-H has a strong college-and-career-readiness focus through local
programs that "spark" an interest in youth, meaningful mentoring relationships, and access to thenation's land grant universities. From on-campus experiences to exposure to college professors, 4-H
creates access to post-high-school planning for all teens.

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