Michael P. McMillan
President & Chief Executive Officer, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis

Twitter:  @MMULSTL 

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis' Head Start/Early Head Start (ULHS) program is a comprehensive early childhood education program that provides services to 672 children from birth to age five. A particular focus is placed on school-readiness, early childhood education, family and community engagement, and health and nutrition services.

By 2020, nearly two-thirds of all jobs will require post-secondary education or training grounded in critical thinking or problem-solving skills learned in math and science. To better prepare our students for future career success, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis recently renewed its partnership with the Monsanto Fund to support science education in its Head Start program. The Urban League Head Start Science to Educate Many programs broadens classroom and outdoor learning opportunities through hands-on, open-ended activities and zoological studies. Additionally, ULHS continues to expand and enhance classroom science centers and provide quality hands-on exploratory opportunities in science education.

Classroom science centers are now one of the largest areas in each classroom; previously they were the smallest or non-existent. Scientific and exploratory methods are now being used during instruction in literacy, math and social studies, and teachers are providing engaging, high-quality activities and experiences that make learning purposeful and sustainable. 

Our initiatives also involve our students’ parents. Parents have long supported off-site, science related field trips to places such as the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Butterfly House, but this year we expanded parental engagement in the STEM program. Believing instructional techniques and child outcomes will be reinforced earlier if parents are more involved in classroom and center-based activities, learning has been extended beyond experimental projects families can participate in at their child's center to include science-related take-home activities.

All Urban League Head Start Centers take part in a variety of urban biodiversity initiatives. Currently, each of our sites house butterfly gardens as part of Milkweed for Monarchs: The St. Louis Butterfly Project, an initiative launched by the City of St. Louis to build nature-rich neighborhoods and rebuild habitats for monarchs and other wildlife.  Students who planted gardens this past spring and summer will be able to observe the life cycle of butterflies, discern different species of milkweed, and learn about the insects that thrive from milkweeds during the school year.

The results of ULHS' STEM program have been astounding. At the end of last year, 95% of our students met or exceeded program expectations in knowledge of the living and physical environment, and 87% met or exceeded age-level expectations in scientific-inquiry skill development.