Project LEARN Narrows Opportunity Gaps for Lowell Students

Project LEARN believes that all students should have the same educational opportunities, no matter where they live or go to school, and no matter where they are in their studies. Because it’s a fact: not all schools are created equal, and where resources are lacking, students often fail to get the education—and later on the careers—that they deserve. This is where Project LEARN steps in, to provide enrichment and a way forward; to encourage children to shoot for the stars; and to let them know they can be anything they want to be, despite any obstacles that may stand in their way.

Educational equity, of course, is not a new problem, having long been an issue for students across the country. The irony of the lack of resources and opportunities for students in less-privileged school districts is that those who need help most are least likely to receive it. Project LEARN serves to fill in the gaps where Lowell, Massachusetts schools leave off, offering educational and inspirational out-of-school programming including college and career preparation. Our small grant program exists to support deserving initiatives such as this, that help young people rise above their circumstances to fulfill their potential to the fullest.

We put some questions to Project LEARN Executive Director LZ Nunn, to find out more about the work of this remarkable youth education and development program:

Kars4Kids: Educational equity seems to be a major focus of your work at Project LEARN. Are Lowell students being short-changed when it comes to education?

LZ Nunn: Lowell is fortunate to have many dedicated teachers and staff, but the reality is that like so many gateway cities, Lowell sees a wide range of opportunity gaps from school to school, and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Project LEARN’s mission is to help eliminate some of these inequities by providing hands-on STEM exploration, arts opportunities, and college and career readiness experiences that are accessible to all students. We believe every student should have access to a world-class education, regardless of zip code, academic performance, or any other factor. We aim to provide resources necessary to inspire students and help to fuel their future aspirations.

Kars4Kids: Talk to us about demographics. How would you describe the typical Project LEARN participant?

LZ Nunn: While it’s easy just to say we serve the students of Lowell; I believe it’s safe to say there is no “typical Project LEARN participant.” We strive to meet the students we work with at whatever level they’re at academically, socially, financially, etc. We are fortunate to have a diverse and extremely dedicated team that is always willing to go the extra mile to help a young person reach the next big milestone in their life.

Kars4Kids: Two years ago, Project LEARN piloted its Harvard MEDscience program. What can you tell us about this program?

LZ Nunn: This is a truly dynamic collaboration with Harvard Medical School’s (HMS) MEDscience program which allows us to expose Lowell students to an immersive biology experience through simulated patient cases and emergencies in the medical field. The purpose is to allow students to learn more about the range of potential careers in medicine and make healthcare pathways more accessible to Lowell students.

We run three week-long workshops during each summer for a total of about 50 students. Participants start the program at our Youth Innovation Space in downtown Lowell reviewing basic medical terminology, lab etiquette, human body systems, learning how to take patient vitals, and learning CPR. On day three we bring them to the Harvard Medical School campus in Boston–which has this wonderful wow-factor for our Lowell students. At the HMS campus, students have a chance to learn with trained instructors in a facility’s state-of-the-art emergency room simulation lab to decipher a patient case and “save” a life.

We’re excited to have the opportunity to deepen the impact of this work later this year with our partners at Harvard Medical School and UMass Lowell through the HMS MEDscienceLAB Pathmaker program, which will provide lab and career skills to Lowell-area young adults 18-25 who are currently not enrolled in a 2- or 4-year degree program.

Kars4Kids: Tell us about your Youth Innovation Space (Y-Space)? Is it an actual physical space? What happens there?

LZ Nunn: It sure is! The Youth Innovation Space, or Y-Space as we call it, is Project LEARN’s first ever in-person space located in Downtown Lowell, only a few minutes’ walk from Lowell High School. We opened this space in 2022 to not only create a home for our programs, but also provide Lowell students a welcoming and safe environment outside of the classroom where they can engage in high-quality learning experiences and have fun with their friends!

On any given day, we can welcome upwards of 50 students who might be there for a “Student of the Quarter Celebration,” to complete hours towards their paid internship, or to even host their after school club meeting. We often also have a handful of community partners and educators join us to collaborate on developing new initiatives for Lowell’s young people.

We’ve seen such a high demand for career-connected learning experiences that we’re excited to expand from our launch pad location – more on that later, though!

Kars4Kids: You have a visual arts program. Would you give us an overview of this program? Are the arts a necessary part of an equitable education? Why do students need some grounding in the arts?

LZ Nunn:  ArtUp Lowell is our community-arts and creative place-making program that brings together youth, artists, and educators to create visual installations that strengthen community connections and enhance public spaces. Since September 2021 ArtUp has brought 17 pieces to the city, including pieces designed and installed by high school students! We have additional 5 projects that will be installed this summer and fall including new student murals, a district-wide rock project, and a community poetry walk. We’ve also engaged more than 1,600 students in arts-related projects, experiences and public-art making.

While many arts programs can fall victim to budget cuts, research shows arts education contributes to overall student success. The arts can help keep kids engaged in school and reduce stress, develop social-emotional and interpersonal skills, improve focus, and bolster academic achievement. Not every student will grow up to pursue a career in healthcare, or engineering, or businesses—and even those who do, deserve to have a healthy, creative outlet.

For the students who are interested in pursuing a career in the arts after high school, ArtUp Lowell’s exciting hands-on opportunity will provide these aspiring young artists with the necessary experience and support system to begin building their own portfolios and open doors for them to become working professionals in our city’s creative economy.

Kars4Kids: Project LEARN has several programs under the heading of college and career readiness. Let’s begin with “Girls Who Code.” Why is this program specifically important for girls, so much so that they need their own program?

LZ Nunn:  The Girls Who Code after school program was on a brief hiatus when an inspired high school student wanted to reinvigorate the program and provide coding and computer engineering skills for her peers with similar interests.  This is such a crucial program because it provides a supportive environment where the “girls who code” can boost their confidence and break down barriers to promote more gender equality within tech fields.

Several of the girls who helped to revamp the after school program a few years ago have now gone on to study computer science or related fields at Massachusetts universities like Boston University and UMass Amherst. They’re not far from their roots, though! They often return to support current participants as they enter competitions like the “IT Girl Challenge.”

Kars4Kids: What is “IDEA Camp?” What ages attend this camp?

LZ Nunn: IDEA Camp is one of our oldest and most beloved programs thanks to a strong partnership between Project LEARN, Lowell Public Schools and UMass Lowell! This STEM exploration camp is available to students entering 5th grade all the way up to high school seniors, and provides an opportunity for them to discover new interests and develop skills through hands-on activities and projects.

Each summer, IDEA Camp runs three week-long sessions with workshops on topics ranging from programming drones and robots during “Flight School,” to building a safe to hide sweet treats in during “Wire Your Bedroom” to learning about the countless professions in the medical field during “Careers in Medicine”—we’d like to think there’s something that would interest every student!

Kars4Kids: Can you give us an overview of your summer internship program? Is this for high school students?

LZ Nunn: We first launched our Commencement 2 Careers (C2C) Internship Program as a virtual placement during the summer of 2020 for high school students and recent graduates who were craving a summer professional development experience to build up their resumes. Since then, Project LEARN has provided nearly 600 young people with paid internships with local employer partners who also serve as mentors for our student interns.

This summer, we’re hosting over 80 interns across an array of career fields including education, the arts, social media marketing, civic leadership, economic development, and more. Using data collected from our 2024 internship kick-off in June, we learned that this would be the very first internship placement for more than 58% of this year’s participants!

Kars4Kids: You offer an early college program. Tell us about that, if you would.

LZ Nunn: Early College Lowell is a concurrent-enrollment collaboration with Lowell Public Schools and Middlesex Community College (MCC) that allows Lowell High School students to take college-level courses and earn real college credits at no cost to students and their families! This last year, over 400 students participated in the program and earned between 12-20 plus transferable college credits, thanks in large part to strong support and investment from MCC and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Regardless of their plan post-graduation, research demonstrates that Early College is a game-changer, particularly for first-generation learners, dramatically increasing a student’s likelihood of completing a 2- or 4-year degree program.  We’re so proud to be a partner in this collaboration and hope that even more students will participate in Early College in the future!

Kars4Kids: What’s next for Project LEARN?

LZ Nunn: Our team’s super excited to announce that we’ll be opening an expanded programming space in downtown Lowell during the first quarter of 2025!

We imagine this space to be filled with bright light and bursting with color and have comfortable study nooks, flexible classroom areas, computer benches, a multilingual library, and an energetic staff who is ready to go the extra mile to provide students with the support they need as they prepare to enter adulthood.

This is a thrilling opportunity for Project LEARN to finally develop our long-term home and have a space where students, educators, industry partners and community members feel welcomed and encouraged to collaborate and make connections that will propel young people into college and/or career.

You and the team will have to join us in Lowell for the launch party next year!