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.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy: Re-Imagining Programmatic Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Out-of-school time academic/STEM programs provide educational enrichment to a myriad of student populations with some designed to assist those underrepresented and at-risk who desire to purse post-secondary studies. One such program in West Virginia (WV) is the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), which provides hands-on, in person and engaging educational enrichment with the intent to increase the college going rates of Appalachia's most vulnerable youth. In March 2020, HSTA key personnel encountered the task of redesigning program delivery due to the immediate shutdown of all in person operations resulting from the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. This paper discusses the programmatic changes of program delivery during HSTA's key program components-the Summer Institute and the Community Based Programming. This paper also utilizes repeated measures one-way multivariate analysis (MANOVA) and paired t-test analysis to examine participants' perspectives on learning, enjoyment and satisfaction of the aforementioned components prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA): Providing 26 Years of Academic and Social Support to Appalachian Youth in West Virginia.

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy's, (HSTA) goals are to increase college attendance of African American, financially disadvantaged, first generation college and rural Appalachian youth and increase health-care providers and STEM professionals in underserved communities. Students enter in the 9th grade and remain in HSTA four years. They engage in a rigorous academic program within the nurturing environment of small after-school clubs punctuated by yearly summer camps on multiple college campuses. A distinctive piece of HSTA is its students' development of research projects under the mentorship of teachers and researchers that examine and address health issues faced by their communities. The projects help HSTA students to understand the health dynamics in their local community, transforming them into community advocates who address health and social issues at home as they prepare to move on to college and beyond. Substantial in-state tuition waivers inspire 99% of the 3,021 HSTA graduates to attend college versus 56% of WV high school graduates. Approximately 85% of matriculating HSTA students graduate with a four-year degree or higher versus less than 50% of all college entrants. To date, 57% of HSTA students go into health and other STEM majors, much higher than the state and national figures.

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.

Demonstrating the Efficacy of the Health Sciences and Technology Academy: Using Archival Standardized Test Scores to Analyze an OST College-Preparatory Program for Underserved Youth.

To combat educational and health disparities, out-of-school-time (OST) STEM enrichment programs provide services to underserved youth to encourage them to pursue college and health careers. This article describes a study conducted to determine if the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) program participants who receive year-round educational interventions to prepare them for STEM and health sciences majors performed better on the West Virginia Educational Standards Test (WESTEST2) than non-participants. This study provides descriptive and inferential statistics, specifically one-way ANOVAs with one-to-one matching based on grade level, gender, race, and GPA at the end of the 8th grade year for 336 students. Statistically significant differences were found favoring HSTA participants on the WESTEST2 math and reading/language scores.