Focusing on STEM Pathways
Students who attend the STEM Education Center will learn all of the A-G requirements in addition to experiencing the following STEM areas of study:
- Biomedical & Life Sciences
- Environmental & Physical Sciences
- Computer Science
- Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing
A-G requirements are certain courses the University of California and California State University systems require entering freshmen to complete in high school, including history/social science, English, mathematics, laboratory science, a language other than English, visual/performing arts, and college prep electives.
Enrollment Process
The STEM Education Center will tentatively follow the same equitable selection process that the Riverside STEM Academy (RSA) established, which includes:
1. Opportunity for every student at every school, every classroom
2. Transportation pick-up and drop-off originating at one of the five comprehensive high schools
3. Defined selection terms through a weighted point system, providing students whose parents do not have advanced education, are from lower socio-economic scales, as well as language census data to advance more pathways to STEM education, fields and advance education for more student populations.
RUSD has revised the selection process to achieve diversity at Riverside STEM Academy (RSA), which the proposed STEM Education Center will follow. The process uses census block information based on language, educational attainment, and income to better reflect RUSD’s demographics. In addition, enrollment slots are balanced equally across our comprehensive high schools. As a result, RSA is now more closely aligned with the District demographics in the areas of Education Attainment, English Language Usage and Estimated Median Income by household. Part of the appeal of UCR’s partnership with the STEM Education Center is the opportunity to enhance access to STEM fields for underrepresented groups. The STEM Education Center will reflect the diversity of the District and will expectantly help UCR continue to recruit a diverse student population.