CONNECTING UNDERSERVED STUDENTS TO POLAR STEM: LESSONS LEARNED FROM A "NEW" FIELD PROGRAM IN ALASKA

Polar and sub-Polar regions are some of the most critical components of the Earth system because they have significant teleconnections. Recent changes in these regions such as atmospheric warming, permafrost thaw, sea ice decline, and glacier retreat, are having global impacts. Understanding these changes and predicting their future global impacts require a wide range of future professionals. Unfortunately, less than 25% of high school students in the United States receive Earth systems science training and Polar studies represents a very small component of what is taught. Additionally, the majority of Earth systems societal challenges disproportionately impact low income and underrepresented or marginalized populations, yet there is a significant deficiency in the number of such students receiving training within these fields. In fact, most Earth systems science programs lack gender, ethnic, and economic diversity. Effective environmental solutions require communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public, and must also support all communities, in particular, those most at risk. We have commenced a new field program to help fill these gaps. The field program is built upon a collaborative and expanding consortium of education programs to include the University of Maine, Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP), multiple Department of Education funded Upward Bound Programs from across the United States, and other federal agencies, academic, and non-profit institutions to offer 1) new project-based field opportunities in Polar STEM for high school students from low income or first generation college families, 2) teacher training in Polar Earth systems sciences 3) opportunities for teachers developing high school lessons to use authentic Polar STEM data, and 4) research focused on determining if our field and classroom education programs improve student learning. In the first 18 months, this program has resulted in ~150 high school students and ~20 additional college students participating in fully funded Alaska field programs and multiple high school and college programs are scheduled for 2024. This presentation will summarize lessons learned from these field programs and opportunities for collaborations to successfully support more students.