It was by accident that Maria Varisco-Rogers Charter School became involved with Students 2 Science, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that provides hands-on STEM education to underprivileged students.
The Newark charter school was selected for a free science field trip after another nearby school was unable to attend. It was May 2012, and middle school teacher Patricia Fartura was in charge of bringing 30 eighth-graders to the organization’s technology center—a trip she would make annually.
“Then the journey began. And our students loved it,” Fartura said. “It allowed students who wouldn’t normally be in that scenario or in that situation where they would see what a science lab really looks like to get hands-on experience.”
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Fartura is now a curriculum supervisor at Varisco-Rogers, but the high school students still visit the Students 2 Science technology center to conduct multi-day experiments, such as simulating the functioning of the digestive system or testing the energy content of caffeinated drinks.
Varisco-Rogers is one of more than 150 schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that partner with the 15-year-old organization, sending students to the technology centers three times a year for day programs in chemistry, biotechnology, physics and engineering. When the students arrive, they will be split into research teams and work with scientists to conduct experiments related to real-world problems, the nonprofit said.
For now, Students 2 Science serves middle and high school students at two centers, located in Newark and East Hanover, New Jersey. But the nonprofit recently announced an expansion of its program to include elementary school students, especially those in third and fourth grades, with a new 20,000-square-foot technology center near Whippany, New Jersey. It will replace the East Hanover facility in fall 2025.
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The nonprofit also offers virtual lab classes for teachers to stream live in their classrooms, and a career exploration program for high school students.
Dan Barnett, chief development officer of Student 2 Science, said the organization decided to involve younger students after hearing from schools that there was a shortage of science teachers in elementary classrooms.
“There’s such a lack of science teachers, or teachers who have a science background or can teach science in elementary school, especially for our school districts that generally have such a high need for resources,” Barnett said. “We worked with consultants to help develop a curriculum that aligns with New Jersey standards for learning and scholarship. And now we are looking for a specialist to lead that program.”
Fartura said the decision to include elementary students will be critical to improving their academic success and trajectory.
“I think we want to get them at a younger age [interested in STEM]because it will only continue to create passion for the subject, especially with all the careers that are out there now – everything is STEM,” she said.
National surveys show that young children begin to lose interest in science, technology, engineering and math as they get older, without mentors to encourage them. A 2019 study found that this decline is more common among girls, students from low-income families, and children of color.
This school year, Varisco-Rogers began incorporating STEM into its own core curriculum. The majority of the school’s 570 students are Hispanic and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Fartura said so far she has seen the school’s third and fourth graders become more engaged in their learning when STEM activities are involved.
“The little ones… absorb everything,” she said. “By the time I would get my students into sixth grade — even 10 years ago, 15 years ago — if they didn’t have that passion for science, it was so hard for me to push them a little bit.”
As Students 2 Science prepares to open its new site, the organization is also reconsidering ways STEM can be taught through its two other programs, Barnett said.
The V-Lab Program offers virtual laboratory classes that can be streamed remotely at any school. Classroom teachers will be provided with science materials and a Students 2 Science instructor will teach for 45 to 50 minutes.
There is also a career development program that offers high school students opportunities for training and internships in STEM fields.
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“We’re really focused on exposure and making sure students know what options are available, especially in the state of New Jersey,” Barnett said. “We recognize that for the communities that we serve, the students aren’t necessarily exposed to all of these opportunities, so that’s really what the focus of that program is, and that, I think, will have a greater impact.”
About 90% of Students 2 Science participants are students of color and 52% are women, the nonprofit said. Since its founding in 2009, the organization has served more than 250,000 students.
A former student, Nomase Iyamu, said his participation in 2015 led him to a career in the pharmaceutical industry. He started with Students 2 Science as a sophomore at Bard High School Early College, part of Newark Public Schools, interned there as a student and helped create the V-Lab program.
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Imayu said Students 2 Science allowed him to make mistakes while experimenting with science and technology in high school. That opportunity sparked his interest in the pharmaceutical industry, which eventually led to him enrolling in business school to start his own pharmaceutical startup company.
“It took STEM to become an entrepreneur, so it can also take STEM before someone does something else they’re really passionate about,” he said. “I definitely see Students 2 Science as a very strong stepping stone to any career path you want to have. Without them I certainly wouldn’t be here.”
