The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (Initiative) Executive Director Alejandra Ceja will participate in Televisa Foundation’s “STEM and Latinas Coding Jam Series” on Tuesday, March 3, in Queens, New York. Televisa, in partnership with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and the Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria, is launching a series of afterschool and summer programs that provide Hispanic girls ages 8 to 12 with opportunities to participate in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities and arts education.
As part of the Initiative’s 25th anniversary, Ceja will discuss the continued need for Hispanic students, particularly girls and young women, to have equal access and exposure to STEM courses, as well as some of the barriers that prevent them from taking these classes early on. Ceja will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Televisa Foundation and formally announce their collaboration on an anniversary event later this summer focused on STEM education for Hispanics.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ Civil Rights Data Collection indicates that nationwide, few of the high schools with the highest percentage of Latino and African American students offer courses in the STEM fields. “The future landscape of America’s workforce needs are changing,” Ceja says, “and in order to attract and prepare more young Hispanics, as well as future generations of Hispanic young girls and women, for successful STEM careers, schools must ensure that all students are given equitable opportunities and access to challenging and rigorous academic courses.”