Expanding equitable access to high-quality out-of-school time educational opportunities for K-12 youth in Los Angeles

In January of 2020, The Office of Mayor Garcetti and the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles launched a program to bring together the diverse array of youth-serving organizations and out-of-school time (OST) providers that work with K-12 youth in Los Angeles. With the input of a task force, advisory council, and focus groups comprised of key stakeholders, the Mayor’s Office is incubating an out-of-school time enrichment intermediary, ExpandLA, that would support and strengthen the expanded learning ecosystem in LA to provide equitable access to high-quality OST educational opportunities for all children and youth in the LA area.

Season of STEM

With the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this group launched the Season of STEM initiative to provide equitable access to STEM summer learning enrichment opportunities, particularly for students most in need of learning support. To date, there have been three Seasons of STEM: Summer 2020, Fall 2020, and Spring 2021. Summer 2021 Season of STEM is planned to launch June 2021.

Participating organizations range from major museums and universities to local educational non-profits and they deliver coordinated STEM learning opportunities to youth in grades K-8. In addition to providing engaging courses and activities in a wide variety of STEM fields, partners integrate social emotional learning practices to help students combat stress and build community.

Season of STEM partners include:

5 Gyres
AltaSea
Aquarium of the Pacific
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
California Science Center
Columbia Memorial Space Center
Discovery Cube
Friends of the LA River
Heal the Bay
ICCA/Straight A
Kidspace Children’s Museum 
LAMI
Los Angeles Audubon
Los Angeles Zoo
Marine Mammal Care Center
Mountain and Sea Education Adventures (MSA)
National Park Service/ Santa Monica Mountains N.R.A.
Natural History Museums of LA County
Oceanographic Teaching Stations
Pacific Battleship Center
Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains
The Wildwoods Foundation
TreePeople
TXT: Teens Exploring Technology
USC Sea Grant Program
USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center
Waterfront Education