The main goal of the StepUP Program is to close critical gaps in STEM resources, career opportunities, and diverse role models available to middle and high school students in BIPOC communities at Title 1 schools. To close these gaps, an innovative, end-to-end solution has been developed by three nonprofit leaders with decades of experience supporting teachers, students, and companies. The Krause Center for Innovation, Ignited, and Science from Scientists created StepUP by merging three of their long-standing programs, with each team running the parts of the newly integrated process based on their proven areas of expertise.

The StepUP Program will deliver four main objectives:

• Provide consistent professional development and instructional supports to help teachers deliver new industry-critical content (Data Science and Synthetic Biology)
• Create greater awareness of STEM and new career opportunities for BIPOC students
• Enlist a diverse set of STEM professionals to inspire students and serve as mentors, role models, and company and career ambassadors
• Ensure all solutions are scalable and lead to thought leadership insights that can be shared with the wider education and business communities