the middle class disappearing and want a future to believe in. i'm bernie sanders, and i approve this message. karen: boston groups are investing in students. they are assisting homeless students with schools. karen: hello, everyone. i' m karen holmes ward. welcome to "cityline." jobs in the science, engineering, science, and math field are lucrative, but there were are not enough skilled workers to fill the void. what' s more, they verse workers are few -- diverse workers are few and far between.

including marty walsh and the superintendent and the united way joined forces to announce a new partnership. bosste m wants to provide all students with stem learning experiences by 2020. it will help close the achievement gap and get students working alongside successful professionals. joining us is the chief of education for the walsh administration and josh flaxman, the director of community impact at the united way. gentlemen, this seems to be a major undertaking. let' s get started and talk a little bit about the numbers. 130,000 stem related jobs in massachusetts. 59% of employers have reported finding difficulty employing the right skill sets. >> i think we don' t have clear pathways to the jobs of the future. we need a sequence of content,

learning, experience, and skill building that leads directly into career attachment. we need colleges, universities, and employers playing a different partnership role with their k-12 system with their helping design the learning experience, providing support, mentoring, and opportunities, and opening the doors at the point of attachment. karen: speaking of k-12, 27% of fourth graders say science is their favorite subject, but by the great, that drops to 14%. why are they struggling to find interest in the subject? >> we really look at it from an exposure standpoint. we have to be exposing students from a young age to the kind of experiences that get them engaged. we have to view boston and the companies that we work with as a classroom. we are excited to be able to do that. through bosstem, we have the opportunity to do that.

karen: the mcat scores don' t support that many students are ready for the stem programs. those mcas scores, how do we get the boston public schools to improve efficiency around teaching kids these important lessons? >> we are still working to make sure we fully implement the next in our schools. the urgency is there to do that work in boston public schools. to really get at stem learning, you' ve got to make the community the classroom as well. we' ve got to take the great content knowledge and make sure it comes alive in companies, colleges, universities, and civic institutions. karen: the achievement gap is even more striking when you look at black and latino students. >> we see this across several academic areas. boston public schools are definitely on the move.

for early ages and pre-k and school. we' ve got to do the middle school work in stem to close the gap in science. math. karen: josh, the united way has a different kind of outreach network. how is the united way going to fit into this piece and support the boston public schools? >> 4s, it is about the responsibility. students spend about 20% of their days in schools. the rest of that time has to be leveraged effectively. we work with 50 community-based organizations in the city of boston. under bosstem, it is us and in boston after school and beyond that will be leaving the charge to engage community organizations, companies in a meaningful way.

really fill that interest gap and support the amazing work happening in the classrooms. karen: that is a very interesting point. kids do spend so much time out of school and on the weekend. you' ve got to find a way to get them interested in these things beyond just what they learned from 9:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon. >> absolutely. you look at the biotech industry, which has nearly doubled in size in massachusetts over the last decade. we have to leverage that to support our young people. that is what we are trying to do bosstem. we are trying to give those students those experiences. karen: certainly, the focused picture we are talking about is young people in the boston public school picture. there is also a bigger picture in terms of the economy in the steady -- city of the state. >> yes, we' ve got to prepare the

we need a different kind of partnership were industry is investing early on in the students need. investment, if we don' t make sure students remain excited about stem learning, if we don' t make sure we are training them, we won' t create the workforce at the diverse work horse we need. the workforce needs to reflect it needs to be relevant, thriving, and vital. we' ve got to invest in young people right now. karen: i remember being in school. how do you get kids excited in these fields? >> it is not that they are not excited. somewhere along the line, they lose sight of the relevant and that is probably the fault of the adults. bosstem is an effort where if it is coming to life in the community, if you can go to a laboratory, visit experts in the field, we will maintain that excitement. karen: not only is there a gap between black and latino students, i would imagine there

young girls who might want to go into these fields. >> absolutely. i was at the mass stem summit. the new president said , he talks to ceos all the time and the biggest thing he hears from ceos hiring executives is that we don' t have people of color and there is a serious gap with women. we need to work to fix that. to ron ' s point, experiential learning and making it engaging for students and leveraging the robust resources we have in the private sector in boston and in the growing biotech sector and innovation economy is something we will work to do. karen: talk about some of the specific elements that partner companies are going to provide students. >> the first company we have partnered with the pharmaceuticals company. it will be twofold.

it will be bringing volunteers to the spaces were young people are learning. out of school time programs and in some places schools. the second is giving students the opportunities to go to the labs. giving them the opportunity to go to these places consistently. karen: can you just take off some of the names of the other companies involved? >> to be completely honest, this one is the first official company on board. we are talking to more. quite frankly, we need more companies on board. we want to talk to google and other companies growing our economy and other major players in this space. this is a message. karen: we want to get the message out. >> we want to work with you. we need our students to work with you. we need your expectation. -- expertise. our students deserve it. karen: a lot of the biotech companies don' t necessarily gravitate to these programs, but

it is to their advantage to develop the workforce for tomorrow. >> there is an economic incentive. follow the example . we have companies laying out the blueprint for how we engage students in lifelong learning. please come join us. karen: thanks for being here.

karen: welcome back. with rising rent and the threat of eviction, families could end up on the streets without access to affordable housing and

this can manifest itself in their ability to learn in schools. no child goes homeless in the is the only program in massachusetts to identify potentially homeless students. once identified, they support these families as they work to regain stability. we are working with -- speaking with project hope' s manager of development. welcome. >> thank you. karen: give us an overview of the problem with homelessness in boston and particularly homeless students. >> homelessness is an ongoing issue in boston. especially in the north dorchester, roxbury area, where project hope is located. some of the more recent statistics show that over 40% of families in our state' s shelter system come from that vicinity,

karen: i would imagine that for a young person, being homeless, not having a particular place to go to every night to do homework or specific meals, can be disruptive to your schedule and your emotional health. >> yes, definitely. that is what teachers are finding. it affects students' attendance and attention span. sometimes students are late to school, miss school, as families -- as their housing is disrupted. karen: the no child goes homeless program steps in. tell us about the program and how project hope interacts with the program. >> this is our fourth year working with the program. we are working with three schools in the neighborhood. the orchard garden school, the w street neighborhood charter school, and the dearborn stem academy. the teaching staff and other

who are homeless or struggling with housing issues and they connect those families to us. we have a case manager, housing worker that connects with those families and helps to stabilize the family' s housing. karen: how did the teachers identify the students that are homeless? >> teachers can look for warning signs and they are often able to identify students that have hunger issues, that are maybe wearing the same clothes multiple times or have other hygiene issues, are missing basic school supplies. in many cases, they are able to ask the did the teachers identify the students that are homeless? >> questions. in some schools, we have been able to help out to provide the right words to ask to have these conversations with families, especially for families having attendance issues or other signs that are present.

there may already be a trusting relationship with the school and the teacher and they are able to connect the family with the resources. karen: we are relying on the teachers to employ their sixth sense. >> the schools are really a natural support system for the families. there are already natural relationships there. that is often a helpful inroad for getting the referral to us. karen: once a student and it -- student is identified, how does project hope return stability to that family? >> the families that are identified could be at risk of eviction, could be doubled up with other friends and family members, or maybe homeless and in a shelter or hotel. the school

identifies this issue with the families and they come to them or they approach the family, have a conversation with the family, and find out if they are interested in the support that project hope offers. we have a case manager, housing worker who speaks spanish, creole, english and builds trusting relationships with these families and comes up with a housing plainly -- plan together with the family to see if there is a way to save their current housing or search for new affordable housing. we continue to work with the family to provide other services and support. karen: what kind of success have you had with the students? i' m sure it must be very rewarding for everybody of project hope to see these kids turn around. >> it is a really exciting program to be involved with. there are a lot of stories we hear from teachers, guidance counselors about students who have made progress was the students become more stably housed.

some of the students to see how impactful the program has been. >> yes. this is our fourth year. our fourth school year working on the program. we have received over 100 referrals of families in various housing crises. there are 28 families we have been able to help place in permanent affordable housing. many others, we have been able to help in various ways with their housing situation. karen: thanks for all the work you are doing over at project hope. >> thank you so much. karen: up next, tennis is the body in, but academic success is

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karen: welcome back. when you match tennis instruction with academic support, you put students on a pathway to success. tenacity uses tennis to the were tennis -- students into their program. their goal is to help underserved kids become more court. when students improve on the results in school. >> nothing levels the playing field more than education.

>> at tenacity, we believe that equal acid -- opportunity is the key to success throughout middle school to high school, into college and beyond. tenacity is a boston-based education and youth development program that provides students and families a pathway of support that spans their entire childhood. we work with students to develop literacy skills and lead good and healthy lives in middle school. business communities and open their eyes to career possibilities. in high school, we offer one-on-one mentorship, eight process, and scholarship money to hard-working students. karen: joining us now is the director of college prep and services and a former tenacity grad. the program. >> absolutely.

with the boston public schools and we start with middle postsecondary success. we are working with them through middle school, through high school, and even through college. karen: it is called tenacity. the young people play tennis. it is not just a tennis program. >> absolutely not. of course, tennis is a draw in. tennis is a sport that many of our young people were not in tenacity. it is really about literacy and post secondary success. we are working with a mind toward civic potential, social potential, and professional potential. karen: how did you become involved with tenacity? >> i have been involved since 2001. that was the second year since its inception. i joined after fifth grade, just when they were starting the middle school program.

karen: why did you want to be apart? >> i' m a very athletic kid. i have always enjoyed playing tennis. i was very independent. i was born in a family where we had to seek out our own adventures in opportunities and that is what i did. karen: once you got involved with tenacity, then what happened? >> i got involved with tenacity, met some amazing people who truly cared about my well-being, cared about my future, cared about developing certain skills within me like my leadership, which was already there and they just wanted me to tap into it i could be. karen: how has tenacity helped you get to where you are today? >> they have helped me in numerous ways. currently, i' m working at tenacity as a part-time college prep member and now i get to put together workshops and help students learn how to properly write college essays. karen: have you finished high school?

m currently in my last semester at tufts university. karen: nice. what is your major? >> english literature and sociology. karen: there are so many success stories i hear about. >> absolutely. we love having students like carlos join us at tenacity as employees, interns. one of the things that i enjoy most about tenacity is that we are not just concerned about core secondary success in the conventional method, the conventional idea. we are not just concerned about your profession. we are concerned about how you will engage in the community and give back to the community from where you have come. we have several other youth who have been inspired to work with young people just like them , have been inspired to give back to their community because of

karen: tenacity is developing well-rounded young people as they go through the program, which is just so exciting to hear about. do you have any statistics you can share with us terms of the numbers of students that have been through the program and the kind of success tenacity has had? >> absolutely. our program tends to work with students who are boston residents. the majority are from the area of the roxbury dorchester, east boston and fallen to the lowest income demographic. when we are comparing our high school results, our outcomes, and our college results, we are comparing these results with like demographics. karen: how does tenacity stack up? >> it stacks up very well. 88% from the class of 2015 matriculated into a college or university. that is pretty high. 91% are on track to graduate

that is a comparison to the national demographic of the lowest income. the national numbers are quite dismal, 9-11%. we are trying to do our part and ending the achievement gap in boston. karen: the boston public schools have embraced the tenacity program. they really love the support that tenacity has provided. >> absolutely. the boston public schools are one of our greatest champions. we are in six middle school sites and each site has embraced community. we are engaging students athletically in tennis, but also doing literacy, teaching life skills. we are developing leaders at a very young age within these middle schools. those students are making an impact on their communities. karen: i' ve heard so many

sexton will he go to the homes of the students in the program. -- actually go to the homes of the students in the program' s. they talk to the parents. this becomes a very cohesive, wraparound opportunity for any young person that is in the program. was that the case for you? >> it definitely was the case ve ve become part of tenacity. i have seen a lot of families who put more than one kid through the program. there will be siblings, there will be three siblings in the program who will go through the same middle school and then go to the same high school and utilize the same resources. when i was doing it, there were a lot of home visits. my family very much enjoyed that. we look forward to meeting with the tenacity counselors and, to this day, i still engage with my old tenacity counselors and mentors.

thank you for being here today. tufts? >> yes. karen: soon to be a graduate of being here. good luck to both of you. you can learn more about everyone we have featured on our program by logging on to our "cityline" page at wcvb.com. thanks a much for watching. have a great rest of your day. take care. national captioning institute, which is responsible for its

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