Steppingstone Scholars, USciences Partnership Allows High Schoolers to Earn College Credit
Editor's note: This article was written prior to University of the Sciences' merger with and into Saint Joseph's University and does not reflect the current, combined institution. References to programs, offices, colleges, employees, etc., may be historical information.
Steppingstone Scholars and University of the Sciences (USciences) have signed a partnership agreement that will allow Philadelphia high school students to attend and earn credits for college-level courses at USciences.
The new dual-enrollment program, focused on Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum, will be open to students in September. A group of juniors and seniors involved in Steppingstone Scholars and attending George Washington Carver High School will take Data Science in USciences’ Misher College of Arts and Sciences.
“We are hopeful that this program will open up the eyes of high school students to the wide array of opportunities available to them in STEM careers,” said Jill Baren, MD, USciences’ Provost. “This is an excellent chance to open our doors to our community in a meaningful way.”
“To so many low income students in Philadelphia, college can often seem unattainable due to a lack of guidance, resources, and ultimately, the cost,” said Sean E. Vereen, EdD, president of Steppingstone Scholars. “Through our new partnership with USciences, we are not only helping to make the journey to college a reality with reduced cost and time to a degree, but also driving students toward professional careers in STEM right here in Philadelphia.”
Students who successfully complete this course will receive college credit toward degree programs at USciences and the credits may be transferable to other institutions. The credits earned may also be used to supplement the normal high school course load or to satisfy high-school level course requirements.
Learn more about this opportunity and other pathways to college and career being created by Steppingstone Scholars visit www.steppingstonescholars.org.
About Steppingstone Scholars
Steppingstone Scholars is an educational social mobility organization. For low-income students in the City of Philadelphia there are no clear pathways made specifically for them to go to college and enter the workforce. Since 1999, Steppingstone has been working to address this systemic problem by creating not just one pathway, but many. Serving students ages 10 – 24, Steppingstone offers three (3) solutions-oriented approaches: Academy, which provides transformative, rigorous learning opportunities to high-achieving educationally underserved students to access and succeed at highly resourced schools; Pathways, which leverages custom resources inside public K-12 schools (neighborhood, charter, and citywide) to create pathways to college and the workforce for educationally underserved students; and Ventures, which creates broad enrichment programs that innovate the ways in which schools, nonprofits, and communities can more equitably serve engaged citizens ready to enter college and a changing workforce. This systemic multi-faceted approach helps students identify, create, and confidently walk their pathways through institutions of higher education and work, well-prepared to begin breaking the cycles of disinvestment and socioeconomic inequality that has existed in Philadelphia for generations. For more information regarding Steppingstone Scholars, please visit: www.steppingstonescholars.org.