CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati nonprofit and a local all-boys school have partnered up to help students learn all about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Cincinnati (BHGH) and Xavier Jesuit Academy are working with dozens of students after school, giving them the chance to shape their future.
"STEM education has always been viewed as a mechanism for success in careers," said Maurice Huey, executive director of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Cincinnati. "When you make learning fun, you make it engaging, you make it hands-on, that’s the beginning of opening them up to every kind of education opportunity in the world."
Nearly 40 fourth and fifth graders have joined the program since the partnership started when Xavier Jesuit Academy opened its doors in August.
WCPO 9 News saw the program in action as a class was taught basic coding skills by BHGH academic success coordinator Tyrome Bembry.
Bembry told WCPO that teaching kids about the wonders of science and learning motivates him.
"It is my own personal mission, and the Boys Hope Girls Hope mission, to get kids motivated and college ready," he said.
During the lesson, the "scholars" as BHGH calls them got to work on a program that allowed them to code a virtual character's dance routine. The online program included popular songs by artists like Dua Lipa, Justin Beiber and Olivia Rodrigo.
"It’s kind of fun we get to stay after school and do this," one student said.
"And you get to be with your friends while you code," another student replied.
This class is more than just an after-school activity. For the instructor, it's a way to set students up for life.
"I feel like STEM education is the number one weapon to fight poverty," Bembry said.
Bembry said that this program, which will stay with the students until high school, can help them pursue their dreams to support themselves and their community.
"That’s 38 students that can add economically, in the future, add to the City of Cincinnati," he said.
This new program is the latest development in Boys Hope Girls Hope of Cincinnati's four decades of work. The nonprofit also works to help kids through a residential program and their work with tutors and academic support.
