St. Francis de Sales Academy STEM-Arts Education for Young Women

Powhatan, Virginia

I. The Need For STEM-Arts Education

Saint Katharine Drexel used millions of dollars of the Drexel fortune to build St. Francis de Sales High School (SFDS), a state-of the art facility in Powhatan, Virginia at the end of the 19th century, to educate African American girls for the 20th century. She did so because she recognized that education would be the key to their success and to the success of their future communities. During its seventy-two years of operation (1898 – 1970) SFDS graduated several thousand young women who subsequently made significant contributions to their communities and country.

FrancisEmma, Inc. must now find visionaries who, in the tradition of Saint Katharine Drexel, are willing to partner with us to provide the finest 21st century STEM1 – Arts Education for young women of color. FrancisEmma visualizes a two-year residential, college-preparatory school on the site of the former SFDS, primarily for young women of color who have completed their high school educations, and who need additional preparation to encourage and enable them to pursue STEM fields in college2 and beyond.

Women constitute slightly more than 50% of the population of the United States,3 and “[a]lthough the number of women earning college degrees has been increasing, they

1 “The term ‘STEM education’ refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It typically includes educational activities across all grade levels—from pre-school to post-doctorate—in both formal (e.g. classrooms) and informal (e.g. afterschool programs) settings.” See, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: A Primer, by Heather B. Gonzalez and Jeffrey J. Kuenzi – Congressional Research Service (2012) at: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42642.pdf (last visited March 15, 2016) (hereinafter referred to as STEM Education: A Primer, by Gonzalez and Kuenzi).

2 “There are many good and fair reasons to invest in increasing the number of women of color in STEM and not least among these is the social justice argument that the opportunity to pursue personal and professional success is a fundamental right for all of our citizens.” See, “If Not Now, When? The Promise of STEM Intersectionality in the Twenty-First Century,” by Kelly Mack, Orlando Taylor, Nancy Cantor, and Patrice McDermott, in Peer Review, (Spring 2014, Vol. 16, No. 2) at: https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2014/spring/reality-check (last visited March 15, 2016).

3 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, females constituted approximately 50.8% of the U.S. population in the 2010 census and as recently as 2014. See, http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045214/00 (last visited March 15, 2016).

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hold less than a quarter of STEM jobs nationally.”4 Additionally, by the year 2060, minorities, now 37 percent of the U.S. population, are projected to comprise 57 percent of the population.5 Already, “the demographic profile of the U.S. student-age population is changing.”6 Yet, despite these facts, the numbers of women of color in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are alarmingly low.7 Our country cannot afford to waste the potential talent residing in young women from historically underrepresented groups.8 We must help to prepare them for the 21st century

4 See, STEM Education: A Primer, by Gonzalez and Kuenzi, at p. 26.

5 See, Census Bureau News Release CB12-243, “U.S. Census Bureau Projections Show a Slower Growing Older, More Diverse Nation a Half Century from Now,” at: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb12-243.html (last visited March 15, 2016).

6 See, STEM Education: A Primer, by Gonzalez and Kuenzi, at p. 23.

7 See, Kristine De Welde, Sandra Laursen and Heather Thiry, Fact Sheet on Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) at: http://www.socwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/fact_12-2007-stem.pdf (last visited March 15, 2016):

“Across all STEM fields [in education], the proportion of women of color is small, and drops at each level of degree attainment (NSF 2007a, CPST 2007)”. … [In employment] White women comprise some 20% of the 4.9 million S&E workers, Asian-American women 4%, Black women 2%, Hispanic women 1.2%, and American Indian/Alaskan Native women just 0.1%. Because they are represented above their level in the general population, Asians are not considered an “underrepresented” minority in S&E. In general, across disciplines and sectors of employment, whites outnumber all minorities by almost three to one.” (Id. at p. 1)

See also, Disparities in STEM Employment by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin (American Community Survey Reports -24, by Liana Christin Landivar, September 2013) at http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2013/acs/acs-24.pdf (last visited March 15, 2016).

8 “Many business, academic, and policy leaders assert that U.S. STEM education weaknesses have contributed (or will soon contribute) to national S&E (science and engineering) shortages and that this labor supply problem has diminished U.S. global economic competitiveness and threatened national security (or will do so in the future.” See, STEM Education: A Primer, by Gonzalez and Kuenzi, p. 15, at: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42642.pdf (last visited March 15, 2016). (The authors also note that some analysts disagree with this view. Id. at p. 15).

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careers in STEM9, and by so doing help to prepare our country for one of the largest demographic shifts in our history.10

II. The Importance of Arts Education

An appreciation of the arts helps us to value life, human beings and other species with whom we share this Earth, the Earth itself, the Universe, and God, who is the source of all being. As our world becomes more dependent on technology, it will be ever more important to be reminded of the beauty of life in all its manifestations. Arts education plays an essential role in helping to create and maintain a civil, civilized, and enlightened society.11 Excellent arts education went hand in glove with a superior academic education at St. Francis de Sales throughout its history. This storied tradition12 must continue.13

III. Why STEM-Arts at FrancisEmma?

9 “The urgent need for science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) higher education reform in the United States is fueled by projections that our labor market will require greater expansion for those trained in science and engineering than in any other sector in the twenty-first century. This challenge is compounded by the fact that improved global economies and opportunities abroad will no longer allow this country to rely on foreign-born talent to meet its STEM workforce demands. To remain competitive within this shifting context, America must aggressively pursue the full participation of all of its college-age population—and most especially the women and women of color who embody an untapped source of talent for meeting the nation’s needs.” See, “The Twenty-First-Century Case for Inclusive Excellence in STEM,” by Kelly Mack and Patrice McDermott, in Peer Review, (Spring 2014, Vol. 16, No. 2) at: https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2014/spring/mcdermott (last visited March 15, 2016).

10 “Our nation is facing a STEM pipeline crisis in a world where both our workforce needs and the growth of our international competition are growing at an ever accelerating pace. Students who live at the intersection of race, gender, ethnicity, and class are disproportionately absent from the STEM enterprise, and yet they constitute the fastest growing college-aged population in the United States (National Science Board 2010). In view of the current and future racial and gender demographics of the US college population, the United States cannot continue its global leadership in STEM without an acceleration in its production of women in general and women of color in particular for the STEM workforce.” (Emphasis added). See, “If Not Now, When? The Promise of STEM Intersectionality in the Twenty-First Century,” by Kelly Mack, Orlando Taylor, Nancy Cantor, and Patrice McDermott, in Peer Review, (Spring 2014, Vol. 16, No. 2) at: https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2014/spring/reality-check (last visited March 15, 2016).

11 See, “The Necessary Role of the Arts in Education and Society: Finding the Creative Power Within Us to Control Our Lives and Shape Our Destinies,” by Eric Oddleifson, Chairman, Center for Arts in the Basic Curriculum, at: http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Arts%20in%20Education/The%20Center%20for%20Arts%20in%20the%20Basic%20Curriculum/oddleifson2.htm (last visited March 15, 2016).

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While Virginia has 23 Governor’s STEM Academies,14 all appear to be geared to students enrolled in high school.15 Many gifted young women of color who are capable of pursuing STEM fields in college, may not have had the opportunity to pursue STEM studies to the extent they might have wished in high school.

STEM-Arts at the site of the former St. Francis de Sales High School in Powhatan, Virginia would offer a STEM-Arts curriculum designed to reinforce skills acquired by underrepresented young women in high school, so that they would be better prepared to matriculate and graduate in STEM programs at the university level. For the following reasons, this location would provide the ideal setting for a post-secondary, residential, college-preparatory STEM-Arts school:

12 For example, St. Francis de Sales High School Glee Club was directed by Sister M. Elise Sisson (1897-1982), who was a member of the New York Metropolitan Opera prior to joining the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The SFDS Glee Club performed at such a high level of excellence that it was often invited to perform in such venues as Town Hall in New York City, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and in Europe. The SFDS performance of April 27, 1969 is documented in New York Magazine, p. 20. See, https://books.google.com/books?id=dMcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=St.+Francis+de+Sales+Glee+Club+performs+at+Town+Hall&source=bl&ots=rkHCu1ImJ6&sig=gsUigGIAp0hzxvPkSVqsZqfEAfY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAWoVChMIquOGvOyLxgIVEO6ACh3DQwCX#v=onepage&q=St.%20Francis%20de%20Sales%20Glee%20Club%20performs%20at%20Town%20Hall&f=false (last visited March 15, 2016).

13 To a certain extent, the tradition continues even now. Several SFDS graduates have been deeply involved in the performing arts since graduating from SFDS. For example, Donna L. McLean of Philadelphia, who received her foundational voice training at SFDS from the Sister Mary Elise Sisson, SBS (1897-1982), still gives solo performances in Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Sister Elise, a co-founder in 1976 of Opera Ebony in Philadelphia, continued to have a powerful effect on Donna’s life even after SFDS. It was Sister Elise who encouraged Donna to audition for the Opera Ebony chorus. Donna did so and was successful. Donna also sang in the choir and as a soprano soloist in the Clayton White Singers. Ms. McLean continues to study voice with Kathryna Barone of Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music. See, http://www.brynmawrconservatoryofmusic.com/archives/96 (last visited March 15, 2016).

14 See, Virginia Department of Education Governor's STEM Academies July 28, 2014, at:http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/career_technical/gov_academies/academies/governors_stem_academies.pdf (last visited March 15, 2016)

15 Id.

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The property is within easy driving distance for families from many East Coast cities, and even families from the West Coast could fly to major East Coast cities and then travel to St. Francis de Sales Academy (SFDS).

The property is easily accessible to families in the Virginia area whose daughters might benefit from post-secondary STEM-Arts education.

Likewise, the school would be easily accessible to major centers of higher education from which seasoned and novice educators, scientists, and entrepreneurs could travel to the school.

SFDS would be in a breathtakingly beautiful setting in the Virginia countryside, far from the distractions that too often interfere with a student’s ability to focus on her studies.

SFDS already has a legacy of educational excellence in several communities of color, which would make it easier to recruit African American, Native American, and Latina American women to recognize and pursue the opportunity to receive a STEM-Arts foundation that would likely lead to excellent jobs, job security, job satisfaction, and good salaries.

IV. The Vision for STEM-Arts on the St. Francis de Sales Property

Gifted young women (primarily of color) from financially disadvantaged backgrounds

Excellent educators Scientists, engineers, and mathematicians “on loan” from industry Visiting artists (both as teachers and performers) Modern high tech, residential campus with all the latest innovative features for

STEM and Arts education State-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories

Small, state-of-the-art performance facility for theatre, musicals, dance, etc. Land that serves as part of the “research facility” for biology, botany, ornithology,

etymology, etc. Beautiful natural surroundings Aesthetically pleasing architecture

V. Potential Partners – Dreaming on the Large Scale

To achieve the vision of having a post-secondary STEM-Arts college-preparatory school at St. Francis de Sales, FrancisEmma, Inc. (FEI) must find partners who share our vision and values, and who are willing to invest in the future of our Nation. This means that, in addition to relying on the hundreds of benefactors who have supported (FEI) since

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our inception, we must be willing to dream on a large scale of finding foundations or philanthropists like Saint Katharine Drexel.