DANIEL CENTER FOR MATH AND SCIENCE
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Mission Statement
To narrow the education gap in math, science, and technology for at risk and economically disadvantaged children; and to prepare and motivate these same children to pursue a post-high school education.
About This Cause
Our program’s mission is to narrow the education gap in math, science, and technology for at-risk and economically disadvantaged children, and to prepare and motivate these same children to pursue a post-high school education. Teen pregnancy, academic failure, gang involvement, and criminal activity, are just some of the gloomy outcomes for a large percentage of youth in S.E. Raleigh. These outcomes early in life, put children on a trajectory, which leads to a high risk of incarceration; unemployment and underemployment; and life-long dependence on social service programs. The Daniel Center was founded with the belief that education (STEM education, in particular) is the most effective tool in setting children on a different trajectory - one that breaks the cycle of generational poverty by leading to livable-wage careers, financial self-sufficiency, and a life that adds benefit to our greater society. The Daniel Center for Math and Science was founded by our Executive Director, Kirby Jones. The onus behind our founding rests in the fact that so many children in the S.E. Raleigh community (and communities like it), who have no innate deficiencies, nonetheless find themselves on paths leading to negative life-outcomes. The Daniel Center for Math and Science makes a significant positive impact on the low-income children we serve. Through our program, children have access to the academic tutoring, and real-world exposures, we provide. Having a child in our program, 5 days a week, year-round, for years, has a powerful long-term affect. Our program consists of two major blocks – full-day sessions, and after school sessions. During full-days, our scheduling emphasizes a comprehensive curriculum that combines hands-on, inquiry-based activities that are also fun for the students. Full-days consist of reading, journaling, technology, STEM-themed lessons, outdoor activities, and field trips to STEM-based venues. Our afterschool programming focuses on four curriculum-based opportunities. The first are hands on, inquiry-based lessons, which incorporate math, science, and technology. These lessons correspond to the pre-selected curriculum theme for the week. The second weekly activity consists of professionals from various STEM-based industries making presentations to our students, which demonstrate STEM in a real world application. Third, our students participate in weekly Lego Robotics curricula; and fourth, our students participate in weekly computer coding lessons. Southeast Raleigh, N.C. shares the plight of our nation’s inner cities - crime, drug abuse, gangs, etc. It has the undesirable position of having more than twice the number of families below the poverty level than the rest of the county, in which it resides. With a high dropout rate, students form Southeast Raleigh score significantly below other students in every academic category, when compared to their counterparts in the rest of the county. Our program counteracts the negative influences that inner city communities can present, and put children on the path to life-success. Children with deep academic, and often social and emotional deficits cannot be put on a different life-trajectory, without long-term interventions. We believe that it requires comprehensive, long-term tutelage to achieve these life-shifts. For this reason, our program currently enrolls children as early as age 5, and provides academic and life skill programming, through their second year of college. As well, in the spring of 2019, we will open of our pre-k component. This will give us the ability to provide education enhancement to children as early as age 3. Our methodology, not only includes the program components already mentioned, but a significant part of our education philosophy includes high-impact experiences and exposures. We are, therefore, very pleased that The Daniel Center for Math and Science continues to benefit from a great deal of community support. We have forged alliances with many area companies, who not only support us financially, but also provide field trip and job shadowing opportunities. Plexus Engineering, EPA, Cisco Systems, First Tennessee Bank, Duke Progress Energy, HDR Engineering, LORD Corporation, Red Hat, and Bayer Crop Science are just a few. We are also a proud Partner Agency of United Way of the Greater Triangle. The Daniel Center has realized significant and measureable outcomes for the children we serve. We collect report cards and end-of-grade test scores on all of our children. As well, we administer the iReady® reading and math assessments when they enter into our program; and this proven education assessment is re-administered at various intervals during their enrollment to track progress. In the 2017-18 school year 100% of our students were promoted to the next grade level. This is better than the overall Wake County Public School System promotion rate and significantly higher than the graduation rate for students in our target population. As well, over 30% of our students were on the A/B Honor Roll, at least one reporting period in the last school year.