GeoFORCE TEXAS: A GEOSCIENCE OUTREACH PROGRAM CHANGING THE LIVES OF LATINO AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN GRADES 8-12 FROM RURAL AND URBAN TEXAS
Students are recruited in 8th grade, attend their first field trip the summer before 9th grade, and participate in a different trip each summer over four consecutive years. GeoFORCE activities include 8 different geological field trips (2 to 7 days long), including the Grand Canyon, Cascade Mountains, modern Florida carbonates, and USGS headquarters in Virginia. During the school year, GeoFORCE provides an SAT preparation course, workshops on the college application and financial aid process, and information on careers in geoscience and engineering. GeoFORCE is designed to engage large numbers of students, with over 500 students participating in summer 2009.
The goals of GeoFORCE are four-fold: 1) to expose large numbers of grade 8-12 students to geoscience and geoscience careers at a time when student interest in science typically wanes, 2) to promote successful completion of high school, 3) to facilitate college application and attendance, and 4) to encourage students to pursue college studies and careers in science. GeoFORCE has just completed its fifth summer of activities, and the initial cohort of students graduated from high school in May 2009. The following evidence shows the GeoFORCE program has made an impact on students: 1) of the 80 students in the initial cohort from southwest