The Lounsbery Initiative

The DPEA Foundation was awarded a two-year grant from the Lounsbery Foundation in Washington DC. The resources will be directed towards placing at least two STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) tutors in 10 AVID classrooms (Advancement Via Individual Determination) in the Santa Barbara junior high schools. Eight DPEA seniors began tutoring in AVID classes at La Colina and Goleta Valley junior high schools. These students will receive Robotics Travel Scholarships for the FIRST competitions this year. Resources will also be made available to the AVID teachers and the Santa Barbara School District for classroom supplies and field trips. UCSB students will begin tutoring in January 2010. This is the initiation of the broader outreach plan of the Foundation, which aims to increase the number of underrepresented students interested in math and science, thus strengthening the applicant pool for the expanded Academy in 2011.

DPEA Students Mentor FIRST Lego League at Girls Inc of Greater Santa Barbara

The FIRST Lego League is a national program that brings young students (elementary and middle school) to the world of engineering and the excitement of robotics competitions. The students in the program build a Lego robot, which is designed to complete a set of designated tasks. In the Lego League, the students explore the process of engineering design and experience the challenge of building a new machine.

Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara started their first Lego League team in 2008. This year, three seniors from the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy mentored the team. The team met once a week for two hours at the Girls Inc's Goleta Valley Center with the mentors to design and build their robot.

Nicole Schauser is a DPEA senior and Lego League mentor. This is her description of her experience mentoring at Girls Inc:

"We worked directly with the girls to keep them on task, increase their interest in the project, and make sure that they understand what they are doing. A few girls were very excited to build the robot; however they had no clue how to begin. We spent a lot of time getting the girls to think creatively and realistically about what they could design for the robot.

We attended the Lego League competition on November 15, 2009. Since we were the mentors with robotics experience, we were able to keep the girls on task and increase their excitement. At the competition, I spoke to some of the girls to gauge their interest and understanding of the robot. I felt that they definitely knew more and were more interested in science than at the beginning. Since we stepped in and helped Girls Inc with the team, I believe that we made a difference in the girls’ lives. Most of them had not even thought about science or programming as fun, but they were very interested in it by the end of the season.

I really enjoyed helping the girls because I was able to share my passion for engineering. Not only did the girls learn a lot about engineering and problem solving, but I learned how to explain concepts to them and how to best communicate my excitement."