Oakland Program Aims to Pique Girls' Interest in Science, Tech Careers
From: The National Center for Media Engagement
Series: PBS Newshour
Length: 09:42
As part of the NewsHour's American Graduate series, correspondent Spencer Michels reports on Techbridge, an after-school program based in Oakland, Calif., that shows hundreds of female students a path to pursuing careers in science and technology, while also trying to minimize the chances of them dropping out of school.
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Broadcast History
December 29, 2011
Transcript
JEFFREY BROWN: Next, enticing students, especially girls, to stay in school by promoting a future for them in science, technology or engineering.
NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michels has the story. It's part of our American Graduate series: an 18-month project with other public media partners to examine the causes of and solutions to the high school dropout problem.
MAN: So this was a weapon to attack usually a castle.
SPENCER MICHELS: In an after school class at Frick Middle School in Oakland, Calif., 20 girls are trying to figure out how to build a catapult out of tongue depressors and rubber bands.
WOMAN: Okay. So, you need to maybe figure out how to stop it there.
SPENCER MICHELS: Among them is 13-year-old Ebony Green, an eighth-grader who decided to sign up for this extra science class to improve her academic record and her chances of finishing school and going to college.
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