Revolutionizing STEM Education: One Detroit Man's Extraordinary Story

By Raad Rahman.

Photo courtesy Andrew Raupp

Detroit, Mich. Rising concerns about harnessing the potential of the next generation of US science learners and thinkers, have resulted in a move amongst US policy makers, to address how to strengthen education in the US.  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education in order to rejuvenate K-12 schools in the US, has grown in significance over the past 14 years, and this movement can, in no small part, attribute its origins to the State of Michigan.

Andrew Raupp, the CEO of Stem.org, is a visionary. What is striking about this soft spoken and incredibly charismatic man, however, is the story of how he became involved in a multinational consulting firm, which today serves as the hub of rejuvenating curriculum in schools domestically and abroad by working with state governments from California to Columbus, and international governments from Jordan to Jamaica.

Humble Beginnings

A native of blighted Southwest Detroit to immigrant parents, who both served as civil servants, Raupp was no stranger to crime and violence growing up. Reflecting back to his upbringing in Southwest Detroit in the 1980s and 1990s, Raupp is somber as he describes a city that was going through a deadly and rapid decline in its significance as a historical hub for automobile manufacturing in the United States. The race riots of the 60s, the decline of Detroit as an automobile manufacturing hub as the US moved into a service oriented model, increased the constant violence of Raupp ’ s childhood in more ways than one.

A STEM class in progress

“ My parents finally moved out of the neighborhood when I was a teenager, because they realized how much pressure I was under, to join a gang, ” says Raupp. Indeed, and even though their civil servant jobs required them to maintain residence in Detroit, Raupp ’ s parents made several sacrifices to ensure their children ’ s safety. They moved away from friends, sold the family home, and shifted their two children to a quieter and more stable community in northwest Detroit.

“ My younger sister used to tease me because she learned how to ride a bicycle three weeks before I did. I was only seventeen when I learned, because my mother did not allow my sister and me to hang out in the streets until we moved, ” says Raupp, who is grateful for their interventions.

Yet, the impact of this dilapidated origin left a strong impression on Raupp. As part of a summer program while he was in college, Raupp returned to southwest Detroit in the summer of 2000.  His goals were simple: help build communities by encouraging gardening in areas that were normally perceived as undesignated dumpsters. In order to do this, he cleaned up the graffiti and trash around the worst-crime ridden areas of the city.

It was during a hot summer day, while he was cleaning up graffiti of the wall, that Raupp had what he still recalls as a nerve-wracking encounter with a gangster group.

Andrew Raupp Delivers a speech about science education in Detroit. Photo courtesy Andrew Raupp

“ A car drove up, and the occupants inside began to yell at me, until one of them recognized me. They were my old classmates. They handed me a beer. I drank it because I didn ’ t want to offend them, but when I started talking to them and they appreciated the fact that I had gone a different route, ” says Raupp. He reportedly was frightened, but realized there was a huge potential in attempting to create a dialogue with many of the local schoolchildren.

“ Nobody wants to really become a gangster- but they go down that route because they feel they have no other way out, ” Raupp says, reflecting back to how quickly the community latched onto the program.

As a result of this conversation, Raupp led many of his classmates ’ younger siblings to several visits to a local natural area, and simultaneously taught them about the various means of growing a community vegetable garden.

A STEM scholar learns about sustainability and science

“We also did simple things, like taking garbage can stickers and translating them for the predominantly Spanish speaking population. 15 kids came back in two weeks. Students who were younger and wanted constructive alternative to gang culture. They probably saw their siblings had suffered. We had gardening plots and even painted a mural to show their artistic side. Clearly we didn’t have a budget to compensate them, but I was adamant to foster this community. I rented a bus… and took them to where Henry Ford spent much of his life… At one time it was one of the most elaborate estates in the world, with acreage surrounding it as far as the eye can see. With University of Michigan’s campus just next door, the children learned about wild ginger and protected plants, about battery power, and even hydroelectric energy.”

Giving children a reason to be proud of Detroit’s history saw even parents coming to seek out Raupp’s field studies. At the end of the summer, Raupp regretted having to return to his classes, while wondering what would happen to the children who he had built a rapport with. Yet, the impact he had left behind was immediate, and Raupp was asked by schools in southwest Detroit to conduct more trips and eventually summer camps.

Photo courtesy Andrew Raupp

This was the humble beginning of what is today a multimillion dollar consulting firm, which employs experts in all levels of curriculum development, and has worked in over 1700 schools around the US.

Although the institution that Raupp has founded no longer offers school trips or summer camps, the strategic focus is on creating sustainable development and change, by training teachers on pedagogies, and through evaluating curriculums and providing alternatives, and by working with policymakers on both horizontal and vertical platforms, to ensure that STEM.org ’ s work remains current and cutting edge.

Under Raupp ’ s leadership, STEM.org has grown from working with 50 K-12 students, to over 142,500 total as of December of 2014 . Today, it has developed a series of public-private partnerships (PPP) to produce engaging interactive content which focuses on creating scientists and engineers by conducting experiments from a very early age, so that children begin to take their identities as learners seriously. STEM accreditation is available to schools and certification for teachers alike, and writing content, evaluating best practices, as well as creating textbook quality content, is a core focus of the organization.

The future of STEM Education

Raupp with Elizabeth Warren. Photo courtesy Elizabeth Warren

STEM education has reached a particular prominence with US policymakers, resulting in Raupp receiving the distinctions of being named an Emerging Leader by Harvard ’ s Kennedy School, and one of Michigan ’ s Most Prominent 40 Under 40. Despite these strides, Raupp is somber about his organization ’ s ultimate impact.

“ We need to look into bringing STEM consciousness into marginalized communities, but we also need to recognize that we should focus on STEM education at all levels of a child ’ s development. This is the only way we can continue to be a technological hub that produces cutting-edge technology in an increasingly competitive and globalized world, ” says Raupp.

“ Unfortunately, we have a long way to go, because even though we attempt to make our curricula accessible, there are several communities which are absolutely unaffected by the changes that we have tried to make. Our impact is substantial, but it is nothing compared to what it would be, should we introduce STEM education to the most impoverished communities worldwide. ”

In fact, shifting the models of his educational services from a direct one to one that focuses on a training of trainers, was also a conscious one. “ I was torn because we were getting calls from other places around the country. I made the decision to have a shift from direct to a training of trainers model. By doing that, we would have an opportunity to work worldwide. ”

Indeed, part of the issue has also been that teachers in schools across the US are underpaid. Raupp, however, is adept at efficiency and refused an executive wage for the past 18 months, in order to ensure his staff still receive adequate compensation. “ We had 300 instructors going into school in 2013. Even though we wanted to provide an authentic experience for educators, it has been a difficult journey. You ultimately get what you pay for, and paying teachers well means just that.  Besides, it is the right thing to do.  Once they are able to take care of themselves, they begin to position themselves to help others. ”

Photo courtesy Andrew Raupp

Indeed, a report by Change the Equation in 2012, in conjunction with the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, suggests, “ The number of college certificates and degrees Americans earn has grown more slowly in STEM than in most other fields, especially among women and African Americans. ”

Raupp remains optimistic. “ We have seen significant strides in addressing the gaps in STEM education around the country, and in no part due to community-level efforts. That is the beauty of the programming we offer. ”

Stem.org provides credit bearing science programs, and has impacted direct student programming across both private, public, and charter school models.

When questioned about his journey, Raupp gives the best suggestion to budding entrepreneurs, “start local, and love what you do. You won’t ever regret it.  Create a situation where you have freedom of time and mobility.  The rest is history.”  If one looks at the “STEMpire" that Raupp has created, it is not difficult to see why his labor of love has been as successful as it has been.

Tweet