STEM FORWARD

The Future of Innovation Starts Here.

STEM Forward, a premier initiative by the Chinese American Parent Association of Howard County (CAPA-HC), is building America’s next-generation competitive workforce. Championed for over $1 million in federal funding through NASA, we bridge the gap between early education and future career readiness. By providing hands-on coding, robotics, and earth-science experiences to elementary and middle school students, we are sparking lifelong curiosity and launching the STEM leaders of tomorrow.

• After-School STEM programs hosted at 20 Howard County Elementary Schools in underserved communities

  • By providing these students with engaging, hands-on STEM experiences that build essential skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration, we aim to ignite their passion for STEM and prepare them for future academic and career success

• Will support middle school students by offering mentorship in the research process, guiding them through science fair projects with a dedicated workspace and access to specialized resources such as lab equipment and prototyping materials at the STEM learning center

• Build a strong pipeline from high school to college and ultimately to the STEM workforce. Through comprehensive training, STEM Forward will equip high school tutors with effective teaching strategies, leadership skills, and STEM expertise, preparing them to take on mentorship roles while deepening their own knowledge and passion for STEM careers. These tutors will collaborate with college students from institutions such as the University of Maryland (UMD) and Howard Community College (HCC), leveraging their combined knowledge and perspectives to create and refine engaging STEM lessons and activity kits

• Will establish a STEM Learning Center, enabling all Howard County students access to STEM Forward programs, regardless of availability in their home schools

• Feature summer camps, day programs during school breaks, and extended field trips to further enrich STEM learning experiences 

  • Offer hands-on activities like coding workshops, robotics challenges, science experiments, and engineering design projects

• Field Trips to a wide range of STEM facilities, including prominent public institutions like NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the National Cryptologic Museum, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as well as innovative privately owned companies and research centers in Howard and surrounding Maryland counties

Parent Testimonial:

“I attended the graduation ceremony for TechGirls last May and came away inspired and impressed. The diversity of the students was amazing – it truly reflected our county’s demographic. Parents were amazed not only by the stellar program but also by the relationships their children built with mentors. This program will pay dividends for years to come – sparking curiosity in our younger students while reinforcing leadership and STEM aspirations in our high school mentors.”

Expansion Details:

• 350-400 elementary school students and 100 middle school students annually, engaging them in hands-on STEM learning and mentorship.

• Up to 60 high school students each year, providing them with service-learning and leadership opportunities as tutors and program assistants.

• Up to 20 college students annually, offering mentorship and content development roles that strengthen the STEM pipeline.

• Part-time job opportunities for tutors and program coordinators, contributing to workforce development.