Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

experts and citizens are restoring the transition zone habitat of the Bay estuary (Save San Francisco Bay). At Tampa Bay, volunteers and scientists have set a goal of restoring 12,350 acres of seagrass (Tampa BayWatch). On Nantucket Bay, the community initiative to restore a sustainable native scallop population is driven equal- ly by ecological concern, loyalty to tradition, and re- gional economics (Nantucket Shellfish Association). STEM education demands equal measures of rigor and relevance. In addition to improving student proficiency in the academics of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, STEM education must deliver on the combined promise of job skills, real-world appli- cation, college preparation, community inclusiveness, and even areas of specialization (National Research Council 2011, p. 6–9). According to Matsuba and Pratt (2013), "Early and sustained experiences in natural en- vironments that are socially facilitated are believed to be critical factors in constructing the self and worlds of activists in which the natural environment features so prominently. ese situated and sustained experienc- es in nature are likely to be important in the develop- ment of people's environmental identities as they pass through adolescence into emerging adulthood, and narrate this journey as part of their life story." A STEM program partnered with environmental restoration projects such as these can offer students the opportu- nity to engage in the development, application, and in- novation of solutions that address real-world environ- mental problems, in their own communities, on their native waters. And given the large number of major ur- ban areas located in coastal communities, partnerships with such programs also provide the ready opportuni- ty to engage and educate underserved populations. e Billion Oyster Project Curriculum and Community Enterprise for New York Harbor Resto- ration in New York City Public Schools (BOP CCERS) was created for just these reasons. Funded by the Na- tional Science Foundation and headed by a triumvirate of Pace University, the Billion Oyster Project, and New York Harbor School, it engages students and teachers from throughout the city in a program of environmen- tal habitat restoration, marine science, and computa- tional science that re-imagines ecological restoration as STEM-based education that integrates betterment of community and the local environment (Janis et al. 2016). Unique though BOP CCERS may be, its foun- dation rests in the same human and institutional re- sources as the restoration efforts cited above, such as local scientists, university researchers, marine trades, policy experts, and a citizen work force—resources available in virtually any American urban coastal area. Professors Lauren Birney and John Cronin at Pace University have focused upon creating opportuni- ties for underrepresented students in STEM education with a particular focus on environmental habitat resto- ration through inquiry-based learning with New York City Public Schools. Public policy in this arena and establishing support structures at the middle school and high levels that allow students to conduct real time data collection and advanced research are critical components of this program (NSF DRL 1440869 and NSF DRL 1643016). is support from the National Science Foundation has given students in New York City public schools the opportunity to explore careers in STEM education while enhancing and restoring the local habitat congruently. is research came together as the result of collaborations and common interest in STEM Education, environmental restoration of New York Harbor, and ultimately providing students with the opportunity to conduct research at the water's edge while gaining pertinent STEM-related skills. Ultimate- ly, these collaborative partnerships focus on providing underrepresented students with opportunities to pur- sue careers in STEM Education. Setting the stage for a new type of STEM New York Harbor School is a key BOP CCERS edu- cational partner. Its curriculum is worthy of note, not because of its location—hundreds of schools are in proximity to water—but because of what it has done with that extended classroom. e core courses of the Harbor School are what one might expect at any sec- ondary school—English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Sciences (Abbott 2014; New York City Department of Education; University of the State of New York - New York State Education Department 2017). e similar- ity ends there. On a given day, at the school's docks, students may be preparing oyster shells for later plant- ing, while others are up to their elbows in diesel engine repair. A full boat will depart to conduct a scuba diving class, followed by another that will deploy real-time monitoring equipment for measuring water quality (Miller 2013; New York Harbor School). e experience of Jessie Floyd, valedictorian of the Class of 2016, is a worthy illustration. When a freshman in high school, she struggled to understand the lecture version of the chemical reaction that gener- ates electrical current inside a battery. History likewise felt two-dimensional. Her vessel operations course changed all that: 11

• Cover