8th annual Advanced STEM Winter Program

From January 17 – 19, the Global Teaching Project hosted its 8th annual Advanced STEM Winter Program in Jackson, Mississippi.  Thanks to the dedication and effort of school administrators, teachers, students, and staff, the Program was a resounding success, with over 130 students in attendance, along with numerous teachers and educators from across the state.

The Program, which is held annually over the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, aims to affirm the nexus between Civil Rights and educational opportunity, and to provide intensive instruction in the AP STEM courses students are enrolled in.

The instructional sessions at Jackson State covered AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Computer Science, and AP Statistics.  Tutors and instructors came to Jackson from around the country to work with our students, and top universities were represented from Mississippi and beyond, including Virginia, Yale, Penn, and Dartmouth.

The Jackson program also featured ancillary sessions that included a tour of the State Capitol, the Old State Capitol, and a tour and dinner at the Museums of Mississippi History and Civil Rights, and various speakers. Our students heard from Shanell Watson from the Woodward Hines Education Foundation, Dr. Paula Vanderford and Holly Spivey from the Mississippi Department of Education.  Several current and former GTP Teaching Assistants also spoke throughout the weekend, including WIlliam Harkless, a Jackson native who is pursuing an MBA at Wharton beginning in Fall 2025, Tre’ Peterson, a recent Yale graduate and Varsity football player, and Oso Ifesinachukwu, GTP’s Director of Student Engagement.  Our students also met in the Capitol’s House legislative chamber, where they took part in a discussion led by Education Committee member Sam Creekmore.

The Jackson program is an important way for our students to get a jump on the new year and we look forward to a productive and enriching second semester!