Summary

Youth STEM Lab requests $80,000 from the Riverside Foundation to expand its after-school engineering program to a third middle school site and serve 240 students in grades six through eight during the 2027 calendar year. The program pairs hands-on design projects with weekly one-to-one mentoring from working engineers and technicians.

Statement of need

Middle school is where a student's interest in science and engineering either takes hold or quietly fades. By ninth grade the decision to enroll in a first engineering course has already been made, and students who have never built anything with their own hands rarely make it.

Three of the four middle schools in our service area offer no dedicated engineering or robotics course. Each of those schools employs one science teacher for every 190 students, and none of those teachers has room in the day for a project-based elective. Our 2026 intake assessment found that students entering the program scored an average of 41 percent on foundational design and measurement skills, and only one in five could read a simple engineering drawing.

The gap is not a shortage of interest. It is a shortage of adults who can sit down with a twelve-year-old and help them figure out why a bridge model collapsed. Youth STEM Lab exists to supply those adults and that time. Our two current sites turn away roughly 90 students each year for lack of capacity.

Organization background

Youth STEM Lab has provided out-of-school science and engineering programming in Dayton, Ohio since 2015. Our mission is to give every middle schooler in our community the chance to design, build, and test something real.

In the 2026 program year we served 168 students across two sites, with 34 volunteer mentors and five staff members. Sixty-one percent of our students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and 44 percent are girls. Youth STEM Lab holds current 501(c)(3) status, files an annual Form 990, and completed an independent financial review for the most recent fiscal year.

Goals and objectives

Goal. Deepen engineering skills and sustained STEM interest among middle school students at three Dayton sites.

Objectives, January through December 2027:

1. Enroll 240 students in grades six through eight, with at least 80 percent completing the full twelve-week session.
2. Deliver 4,800 hours of hands-on project time across the three sites.
3. Move at least 70 percent of enrolled students up one level or more on the program's design and measurement assessment, measured at intake and again at program close.
4. Recruit, train, and retain 45 volunteer mentors, with at least 30 returning from the prior year.
5. Place at least 60 students into a ninth-grade engineering or robotics course the following fall.

Project description

Youth STEM Lab runs two twelve-week sessions each year, in the fall and spring, meeting twice a week for two hours after school.

Enrollment. Site coordinators work with each partner school's science department to identify students, with priority for students who have no prior project-based coursework and for students from households below the area median income.

Curriculum. Each session is built around one long design challenge, such as a load-bearing bridge, a solar-powered water pump, or a sensor-driven alarm. Students work in teams of four, keep an engineering notebook, and present their build at the end of the session.

Mentoring. Every team is matched with a volunteer mentor who attends at least one session per week. Mentors are working engineers, machinists, and technicians recruited through four local employers. Each mentor completes a six-hour training before their first session and a background check through the school district.

Family engagement. Coordinators host one family build night per session at each site and send a written progress note home every four weeks.

Expansion. The third site follows the model already running at our two existing schools. It adds one part-time site coordinator, one session assistant, and a shared equipment set, so the per-student cost at the new site is lower than at either existing site.

Timeline

• January through February 2027. Confirm the memorandum of understanding with the third partner school and hire the new site coordinator.
• March through April 2027. Recruit and train 15 additional volunteer mentors. Order equipment for the new site.
• May 2027. Complete intake assessments and enroll the first cohort.
• September through December 2027. Fall session runs at all three sites.
• January 2028. Mid-year review of assessment results and mentor retention.
• February through May 2028. Spring session, close-out assessments, and a written outcomes report to the Riverside Foundation.

Evaluation

Site coordinators record attendance, project hours, and assessment scores in our program database, which the executive director reviews monthly against the objectives above.

• Design and measurement assessment. Administered at intake and at program close, covering measurement, scale drawing, and basic structural and electrical concepts.
• Attendance and dosage. Every session is logged, so we can compare outcomes for students who attended at least 80 percent of sessions against those who attended fewer.
• Mentor retention and hours. Tracked per session, with exit interviews for mentors who leave.
• Ninth-grade course placement. Followed up each October with the three partner schools.

If fewer than half of enrolled students are on pace to advance a level at the mid-year review, coordinators will revise the affected team projects and add a Saturday workshop before the spring session.

Budget narrative

The total project budget for 2027 is $100,000, of which we are requesting $80,000 from the Riverside Foundation and $20,000 of which is committed as matching funds from a local manufacturer's community fund and our annual giving campaign.

• Personnel, $55,000. Two full-time site coordinators and one part-time coordinator at the new site, plus session assistants at all three sites.
• Curriculum and lab equipment, $15,000. Design challenge kits, tools, consumables, and a shared equipment set for the new site.
• Site and transportation, $10,000. Space setup, snacks, and bus passes for students traveling to the Northgate site.
• Evaluation and data, $8,000. Assessment scoring, database maintenance, and the end-of-year outcomes report.
• Administration, $12,000. Twelve percent of the project total, covering fiscal oversight, insurance, background checks, and office costs.

The requested $80,000 combined with the $20,000 match equals the full $100,000 project budget.

Sustainability

Youth STEM Lab has been funded by a mix of local foundation grants, employer sponsorships, and individual giving since 2015. Two of our three site spaces are provided in kind by the school district, and two of our four mentor employers pay for their employees' volunteer hours. We expect the manufacturer's community fund to continue at its current level, and recurring individual giving now covers 22 percent of program costs. If the Riverside Foundation renews at a reduced level after 2027, we will hold enrollment steady at the two existing sites and delay the new site's second session rather than reduce hours for students already enrolled.