Aspiranet’s MOUSE Squad of California helps increase diversity of future Silicon Valley workforce

SILICON VALLEY, Calif. - Sept. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- Recent statistics on employee diversity show that women account for only 20 percent (http://prandcompany.com/taking-on-the-glass-ceiling/) of technical or high-level management employees at major Silicon Valley tech companies. This lack of diversity is even more pronounced when factoring in race; more than 60 percent (http://www.mercurynews.com/News/ci_26281556/Quinn:-The-forces-that-lie-behind-the-Silicon-Valley-workforce-numbers) of Silicon Valley employees are white. A first step toward addressing these disparities is increasing the number of women and minorities who pursue degrees in technology. However, the ability to attract students to these degrees is limited by the lack of tech education available in public middle and high schools.

To address this problem, Silicon Valley-based MOUSE Squad of California (MSCA)offers a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program that teaches technology skills to students. MSCA enables youth to become ambassadors and tech experts in their schools and communities, and serves more than 3,000 students in grades 4-12 in 115 schools statewide each year. MSCA is a program of Aspiranet, a leading California human services agency that supports a number of innovative youth programs that help young children and adolescents excel in their academic studies.

“MOUSE Squad enables young people in low-income schools to have the kinds of rich, hands-on experiences with technology that is not available to most students during the school day,”said Jan Half, Program Director of MSCA. “More than half of our students show an increase in pursuing a tech related career upon completion of the program. The success rate is pretty astounding.”

Approximately 60 percent of students participating in MSCA are African-American or Hispanic/Latino, and 40 percent are female. MSCA aggressively targets high-need school districts to help students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM programs. In order to inspire more females and minorities to follow a technology college and career path, MSCA is leveraging its relationships with Silicon Valley tech companies. MSCA currently partners with a number of key players in the tech industry, such as Facebook, IBM, Oracle, SanDisk, Symantec, and Xilinx to bring this program to local schools, and is looking to form partnerships with additional tech companies focused on diversity.

Karla Moreno, a sophomore at Turlock High School in rural Central Valley, California, found her passion for technology and gained confidence through her participation with MSCA. It inspired her to apply for the National Center for Women & Information Technology Aspirations in Computing Award. “Growing up, there was no expectation for me to get this far. Winning this award was something I couldn’t have even imagined. Without MOUSE Squad, I don’t think I would’ve ever been into technology, and technology has changed my life,”says Moreno.

By 2018, California will need a total of 1.1 million STEM jobs (http://cew.georgetown.edu/onlinejobmarket), representing 6 percent of all jobs in the state. With women making up 50 percent and Hispanic/Latinos accounting for 38 percent of California’s population (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html), it’s imperative these groups are equally represented in the high tech industry. By collaborating with its corporate, community and education partners, MSCA is helping to ensure more women and underrepresented minorities are able to fully participate in the 21st century workforce.

Corporations interested in partnering to provide support to MSCA in local schools can contact Program Director Jan Half at jan@mousesquadca.org or call 408-712-5912.

About MOUSE Squad of California (MSCA)

MOUSE Squad of California’s Student Tech Leadership Program has empowered youth to provide leading edge technical support in their schools and communities since 2003. The program provides students in grades 4-12 with high-quality STEM education, project-based learning activities and confidence-building experiences.  Currently, MSCA’s innovative technology program serves 3,000 students in 22 California counties with plans to expand into more schools and counties in the coming year. MSCA is a program of Aspiranet, a leading California human services agency that supports a number of innovative youth programs that help young children and adolescents excel in their academic studies.

Website: http://www.mousesquadca.org/

Contact Jan Half, Program Director, jan@ mousesquadca.org (mailto:jhalf@ca.mousesquad.org), 408-712-5912

About Aspiranet

Aspiranet, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity, supports foster children, siblings, families and the community with 35 core programs offering specialized services throughout 45 locations within California. Aspiranet strengthens children, families and communities through seven core programs including: Foster Care, Adoption, Residential, Transition Age Youth, Behavioral Health, Wraparound and Family and Community Services.Founded 39 years ago as a six-bed group home for young boys in Moss Beach, California, Aspiranet is one of the most diverse nonprofit social service agencies in the state. With a statewide network of innovative services, Aspiranet serves more than 10,000 families each year. For more information, please visit www.aspiranet.org