The Creating Pathways and Access for Student Success Foundation launched an online database that will expand access to STEM educational opportunities for Illinois students from minority and underrepresented backgrounds. The statewide database will aggregate available STEM education programs, resources and opportunities.
The Creating Pathways and Access for Student Success Foundation (CPASS) launched a new online database that will expand access to STEM educational opportunities for Illinois students from minority and underrepresented backgrounds.
The statewide database will aggregate all of the available STEM education programs, resources and opportunities available to Illinois K-12 students. It is designed to make STEM opportunities available to underserved students from an earlier age, and ultimately bring greater diversity and opportunity to healthcare and technology. This online portal will be easy to navigate; updated in real-time for parents, educators, students and mentors; and be the foundation for an ecosystem of opportunities, including a growing number of CPASS STEM programs.
Established in 2018, the CPASS Foundation is a diversity initiative administered through a public-private partnership. Its mission is to introduce STEM health careers to Illinois grade, middle, high and college students who are traditionally underrepresented in these professions. It offers them exposure to careers they may have not known about and knowledge and access to early training programs that can increase their chances for success. The portal, the first comprehensive online tool of its kind in Illinois, helps students find the best after-school, weekend or summer programs for their needs.
CPASS is the successor to the Chicago Area Health and Medical Careers Program (CAHMCP), a groundbreaking 1979 initiative by Dr. John Bradley and the late Regnal Jones, Ph.D. at the Illinois Institute of Technology. CAHMCP provided students with a desire and aptitude for health care careers viable pathways to success, and was instrumental in bringing STEM education to underserved communities. CPASS will build on that legacy through expanded programming.
“Our database is a powerful tool for opening access to, and opportunities in, the most critical areas of learning for today’s students. These STEM fields are where the jobs will be, and this platform will be a game-changer,” CPASS Foundation Executive Director Stephen Martin, Ph.D. said. “With it, students and parents can identify educational opportunities and access programs they never knew existed.”
The CPASS website database is accessible to the public at .
