Class Matters Inc.

Class Matters is a student-centric program with a focus on the whole student. Every hands-on activity relates back to STEM/STEAM fields - Science, Technology, Engineering, Aviation/Arts, and Mathematics/Medical. As students matriculate through the program, they build and practice their leadership style and skills through multiple opportunities such as being trained as trainers, creating service opportunities, designing activities, and providing input for the program. Class Matters' main area of work is in the NE Oklahoma City community. Historically, this area is under-represented and under-resourced. Each Class Matters event prioritizes the historical success of under-represented pioneers. Young people get to learn about people who look and/or live like them. Classy student leaders take on representation duties of the team. Each team works through the engineering design process to prototype possible solutions to given problem statements. At the end of the project, they work on presentation and interpersonal communication skills. Class Matters is a program for students to gain life skills and knowledge to build their self confidence. By building on their own self awareness and growing their support community, the young people grow their future possibilities and opportunities. In summary, our program's holistic approach integrates hands-on experiences, prototyping, peer mentoring and community engagement to instill a comprehensive understanding of STEM concepts among middle and high school students as they train elementary students or educators. By focusing on the development and distribution of classroom sets and kits tailored to different grade levels, we aim to maximize the impact of our initiative within the NE OKC community.