About CAHSEE

Over the past 10 years, the Center for the Advancement of Hispanics in Science and Engineering Education (CAHSEE) has developed a system of programs geared at channeling, primarily Latino and other underrepresented minority, students into science and engineering careers. These programs have proven to be successful in preparing Latino and other underrepresented youths to enter and succeed in science and engineering schools. CAHSEE is a non-profit organization registered in the District of Columbia with programs in Metropolitan Washington, New York, Chicago, Massachusetts, and California.

CAHSEE's programs are aimed at developing students' intellectual abilities, thus providing them with a sound academic foundation to bolster their professional expectations, attitude, and motivation towards learning and commitment to excellence and educational success. This is done by placing the students in a demanding, yet nurturing, academic environment. Rigorous academic demands in a can-do atmosphere have proven to have a marked effect on the future performance of CAHSEE students in math, science and engineering college programs.

CAHSEE's programs include:

• The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Institute
• Saturday Academy and Student-Parent Workshops
• The Young Educators Program (YEP)
• SAT/SOAR program
• Junior Engineers and Scientists Program (JESP)
• Young Engineers and Scientists Program (YESP)

CAHSEE’s program expansion strategy is based on its well-recognized reputation of replicable successes.

In 1992, CAHSEE initiated the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Institute at the Catholic University of America, and the SAT/SOAR program at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. These two programs sought to prepare metropolitan Washington D.C. Latino pre-college students to enter science and engineering schools, and also Hispanic college students to excel in their academic pursuits.

In 1993 NASA became CAHSEE's first official sponsor and key supporter. NASA's sustained support has allowed CAHSEE to become a recognized national academic organization. CAHSEE's role in preparing Latinos and other underrepresented minorities in science and engineering is highly recognized by academia, the White House, Federal agencies, Congress and the Latino community, where it plays a key role in the Latino Science and engineering Consortium.

In 1994, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the George Washington University (GWU) offered CAHSEE its facilities for the STEM Institute and the SAT/SOAR program. That same year, the Young Educators Program (YEP) was initiated. GWU became CAHSEE's first permanent home.

The STEM Institute, YEP, and the SAT/SOAR program eventually evolved into a comprehensive system of pre-college and college initiatives.

In 1995, CAHSEE and the City College of New York (CCNY) entered into a strategic partnership to inaugurate the STEM Institute in New York City. Since then, this program has been offered primarily to high achieving high school juniors.

In 1996, the STEM Institute was initiated in Chicago at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and a pilot program was held in Silicon Valley (San Jose-Santa Clara) at Santa Clara University

In 1997, CAHSEE started its fourth program, the Young Engineers and Scientists Program (YESP) in collaboration with the Department of Energy.

In 1998, the STEM Institute was formally established at Santa Clara University and a pilot program took place in Los Angeles at the California Institute of Technology.

In 2001, the STEM Institute was piloted at Merrimac College in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The program will become fully implemented next year.

In the last ten years, CAHSEE has worked with over 1000 intermediate and high school students in Washington, DC, Chicago, New York City, Pasadena and Santa Clara in California, and Lawrence, Massachusetts, and with nearly 200 college and graduate students from most of the major universities in the nation.