The development and validation of an academic, work health sciences, and community intentions scale for out-of-school-time (OST) participants.

This study applies Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to examine the internal structure and reliability of an academic, work, and community intentions scale for a cohort of out-of-school-time (OST) academic/STEM enrichment program participants (N = 533). This study utilizes the SPSS and SAS statistical software packages for comparative analysis. Both provide evidence of a three-factor model for intentions--Academic, Work/Health Science, and Community (i.e., the AWHSCI). The ordinal Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients were excellent or good. Non-parametric tools were employed to determine differences in participants' academic, work/health science, and community intentions by race and gender.

High School Students' Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Health Sciences and Technology Academy Participants.

This paper examines the perspectives of Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) participants as they navigate through their West Virginia (WV) high school learning environments (i.e., in-person, blended/hybrid, complete virtual) during the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. In March of 2020, the participants in this out-of-school-time (OST) academic enrichment program for exceptionally driven, yet underprivileged, at-risk students, with over 70% living in rural areas, started receiving remote learning instruction through learning management systems or via paper packets. In August of 2020, school systems provided parents and caregivers alternative learning environments for their student(s). In order to understand the learning experiences of HSTA students during these unprecedented times, HSTA released the 2020 Learning Outcomes Survey to participants in December of 2020. We performed chi-square test of independence to test the relationship between participants' learning environments, their satisfaction with the education they were receiving, their ability to keep up with their school-work, teacher availability to help when needed and teacher feedback supporting them in their learning environment. The results show significant differences between the learning environments and keeping up with school-work as well as teacher feedback supporting them in their learning; however, Phi and Cramer's V tests for effect size show weak correlations. This study provides a small glimpse into HSTA students' learning experiences as they attempted to continue to learn in their regular school environment during the COVID-19 pandemic while in HSTA.

A COMPARISON OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF HSTA PARTICIPANTS WITH NON-HSTA PARTICIPANTS: IS IT POSSIBLE TO NARROW THE AFRICAN AMERICAN-WHITE ACHIEVEMENT GAP?

Historically, African American and other underserved students encounter academic challenges in pursuit of a college degree-one of which is their performance on standardized tests. This paper analyzes College Grade Point Averages (CGPAs), ACT Composite (ACTC), and SAT Total (SATT) scores of students who participated in the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), an out-of-school-time (OST) program, and Non-HSTA (NHSTA) students attending West Virginia University. Traditionally, OST programs provide academic enrichment to underserved youth to increase their chances for post-secondary entry and success. Two-Way Factorial ANOVA determined if HSTA participants performed better on academic measures than their NHSTA counterparts. The ANOVAs showed statistically significant differences based on Status (HSTA/NHSTA) and Race (African American/White) on the SATT and ACTC. Although not statistically significant, there are favorable outcomes on the CGPA for African American HSTA students comparable to their Non-HSTA counterparts.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy: an educational pipeline to address health care disparities in West Virginia.

Health and educational disparities are national issues in the United States. Research has shown that health care professionals from underserved backgrounds are more likely than others to work in underserved areas. The Association of American Medical Colleges' Project 3000 by 2000, to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in medical schools, spurred the West Virginia School of Medicine to start the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) in 1994 with the goal of supporting interested underrepresented high school students in pursuing college and health professions careers. The program was based on three beliefs: (1) if underrepresented high school students have potential and the desire to pursue a health professions career and are given the support, they can reach their goals, including obtaining a health professions degree; (2) underserved high school students are able to predict their own success if given the right resources; and (3) community engagement would be key to the program's success.In this Perspective, the authors describe the HSTA and its framework and philosophy, including the underlying theories and pedagogy from research in the fields of education and the behavioral/social sciences. They then offer evidence of the program's success, specifically for African American students, including graduates' high college-going rate and overwhelming intention to choose a health professions major. Finally, the authors describe the benefits of the HSTA's community partnerships, including providing mentors to students, adding legislative language providing tuition waivers and a budgetary line item devoted to the program, and securing program funding from outside sources.