Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program

Intensive science, technology and engineering instruction is generally reserved for students in middle grades and higher. But this year, some Chicago Public Schools' 1st-graders are getting a taste of these disciplines through in an innovative program that designers hope will set the stage for the city’s children to be globally competitive.

The program is the brainchild of Kenneth Hill, who created a program in Detroit that starts with kindergartners and goes through students’ senior year in high school.

Last fall, 65 1st-graders and their parents became the first to participate in the Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering program. For four weeks, students from seven schools in low-income neighborhoods spent three hours on Saturdays studying chemistry at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Read the rest of the Catalyst Notebook article here.