ABOUT DSEC
In spring 2019, CREATE/CSSI was awarded one of three national hubs for the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) five-year Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC). CREATE’s CSSI DSEC charge is to strengthen and expand the reach of all DoD STEM outreach programs in the San Diego region.
The $75 million national effort, which is headed by RTI International in North Carolina, focuses on STEM enrichment programs for students and educators, STEM workforce engagement, program evaluation, and public outreach.
UC San Diego Math Project Spotlight
The University of California, San Diego, Math Project managed by the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment & Teaching Excellence at University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego CREATE), with funding from DoD STEM, uses a peer-to-peer model to support teachers who are eager to improve instruction quality while simultaneously teaching students.
DSEC ArcGIS Mapping
Advancing efforts to co-develop regional data maps providing visual representations of STEM deserts in San Diego County. Based on mapping results, the UC San Diego CREATE DSEC hub identified and is building efforts to increase STEM support in San Diego Unified School District’s (SDUSD) Southeast San Diego area schools (specifically Morse and Hoover clusters), and schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD). These areas serve predominantly Black, Latinx, and military-connected students.
San Diego STEM Ecosystem Hub Meetings
CREATE at UC San Diego coordinates and leads 4 quarterly San Diego Hub meetings per year to leverage the resources of UCSD, DSEC, and the SD STEM ecosystem. These meetings bring partners together to leverage and multiply regional equity-minded and collective educational and community impact.
NCWIT Regional Initiative: San Diego
To connect and sustain work within the San Diego computing ecosystem, and to amplify efforts and leverage partnerships within the DSEC consortium in the San Diego region, NCWIT will partner with UCSD CREATE on a K-16 focused Regional Initiative in San Diego.
Science and Art Expos
Both the Barrio Logan and Southeast San Diego Science & Art Expo's are inclusive and annual art, science, and culture fairs that welcomes families from around San Diego. Some demonstrations include the engineering of lowriders, the science of tortillas, a robotics playground, music, and more!
OFFERS STEM Camp
Recognizing the importance of STEM exposure at an early age – the in-person camps were designed for 3rd through 5th graders, and focused on getting students excited, engaged and comfortable with learning that anyone can be a scientist or engineer!
