Our students collaborated with STEM teachers to tailor a custom curriculum relying heavily on tactile/visual rather than verbal instruction. YETI students work closely with the staff at these schools to create an environment that introduces ESL students to the fun of Computer Science. While understanding concepts is well within their mental capabilities, they often need one on one instruction or a more tactile/visual teaching method to gain mastery. In an effort to simplify course load, these students are discouraged by counselors and teachers from taking honors and college-level classes, especially in STEM. They often hesitate to ask for clarification in normal classroom settings with native English speakers for fear of ridicule. Our meetings with several ESL coordinators revealed that for ESL students, the language barrier inevitably translates into an educational barrier. YETI is committed to helping underserved groups like ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Through PREPARE, YETI wishes to break the rampant cycle of poverty in these farming villages where the public education system fails to teach 21st-century skills vital to present-day employability.
The self-sustaining nature of this program will allow nearly 100 new schools to be inducted by the end of this year. This year, the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India agreed to provide 70% of the costs and requested the induction of 1,300 schools. Over the last 2 years, PREPARE has inducted 7 schools totaling 2,810 students. PREPARE trains and hires teachers to teach a carefully curated 4-year STEM curriculum developed by YETI students and has provided over $60,000 worth of salaries and materials (like laptops, KNEX kits, and EV3 sets) with the help of YETI. PREPARE, as the name suggests, better prepares these public schoolers to compete with their private school peers in college. In a country that produces more graduates with STEM majors than STEM jobs, class rank is vital to getting a job. When these kids attend college with private-schooled peers, they fall behind due to technological disadvantages. In India, only the poorest attend public schools which lack funds to provide adequate pre-college STEM education.
Expanding on the YETI Global initiative, our co-captain created PREPARE, a 501(c)3 that focuses on providing public school students in rural Indian villages access to quality STEM education.
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