The Berkshire Edge: Business Monday Spotlight

Flying Cloud Institute educator Liliana Atanacio making tortillas with the kids at summer camp.

Flying Cloud Institute—igniting young minds through hands-on exploration

“The question at the heart of everything we do is: How do we create dynamic experiences for youth and educators to use science and art to problem solve?”

BY ROBBI HARTT

“The universe is full of light and mystery. Our Flying Cloud community—families, schools, staff, volunteers, artists, scientists—creates a constellation together that lights up our world with joyous exploration.” – Maria Rundle, Executive Director

As reported in MIT Professional Education, the gender gap in STEM is still gaping in 2023. In fact, the underrepresentation of women in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields not only persists but remains significant, with women making up only 28% of the STEM workforce. “This disparity is concerning, as it leads to a lack of diversity and inclusion, and ultimately limits the potential of the STEM industry,” writes Clara Piloto. “Addressing existing underrepresentation is critical as the world grapples with economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal, and technological risks. Closing the gender gap will not only bolster sustainable tech-enabled growth and innovation but is also deemed an economic necessity.”

In addition, rural students tend to face a number of challenges that can keep them from pursuing college degrees and careers in STEM fields. They are less likely than their urban and suburban counterparts to have family members or neighbors in STEM fields to serve as role models and their schools tend to receive less outreach and early exposure to STEM careers from industry representatives. Finally, students who attend lower-income urban schools with high minority populations earn STEM degrees at far lower rates than are their peers from higher-income, low-minority urban schools.