About THE PROGRAM

The ROCK Center was pleased to partner with IDOE 3K for helping schools and communities strengthen, expand, and create effective pre-K to career pathways and STEM programming.

This partnership allowed students the opportunity to participate in meaningful college preparatory courses supporting middle school students, high school students, and their parents to develop high school planning, college planning, and STEM career exploration skills.

The College prep and STEM program provided the necessary tools for the students to seek and attend higher education and to develop their pathway into a successful career.

The Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at IUPUI in partnership with TechServ and TechPoint Foundation for Youth (TPF4Y) received the funding to continue the work of the iDEW program and expand STEM programming for additional students in Indianapolis.

The Luddy School at IUPUI co-founded and has managed the Informatics Diversity-Enhanced Workforce (iDEW) program in eight area high schools since 2015 and has trained over 500 STEM teachers in Indiana on the iDEW curriculum. iDEW has served over 2500 students to date, over 45 of whom graduated college as of spring 2022, primarily in STEM degree programs.

TPF4Y directs the State Robotics Initiative and VEX program targeted to K-12 students and has provided Indiana students with dynamic, hands-on STEM education since 2001. TPF4Y has added additional VEX robotics teams and resources to middle and elementary schools feeding into iDEW high schools and has made other resources available to iDEW students.

TechServ coordinated activities for middle school students at The ROCK Community Center on the Far Eastside of Indianapolis, co-located on the main campus of Eastern Star Church. After school programming at STEM@ The ROCK will was provided by Speaking College, Agile Meridian, and Techucate.