JumpStart into Aerospace

Organization: Community College of Denver

Grant Round: Jumpstart

Program’s Objectives: JumpSart into Aerospace (JSA) is a collaboration among Community College of Denver, North High School, the Denver Office of Economic Development / Division of Workforce Development, and Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD). It builds on a NASA funded ACES (Access to Collaborative Education in the Sciences) project, a “2 plus 2” degree program (AAS and BS) in Aerospace Systems Engineering Technology, targeted to underserved minorities and women who have typically been discouraged or prevented from pursuing higher education. JSA is strengthening the pipeline of students engaging in the ACES program. It is accomplishing this in a number of ways: Expanding North High School’s aerospace program into the college arena, by offering summer bridge programs; Strengthening delivery of instruction through professional development, curriculum alignment, the development of contextualized curriculum and the expansion of accelerated learning formats; Enhancing the capacity of educational providers to prepare students for aerospace jobs by installing state-of-the-art technology at MSCD’s aerospace facilities; And providing real-life applications of learning through partnerships with aerospace employers.

Individuals Served: To date, 615 students have been impacted by curriculum development and alignment as well as professional development, with a projected 4,575 students being impacted over five years.

Success Story: “Wow, I am speechless. This class was the best one I have ever taken. It really opened my eyes.  My dream is to become an astronomer someday. I now know how to use a telescope in different ways and I owe all this to this class. I believe telescopes are the peep hole to the universe and this class taught me that.”
-- Jasmine Garcia, a JSA student

Quote: “It is such a pleasure to work to improve aspects of the college experience, to recruit students who would not otherwise know about aerospace or even consider higher education, to involve industry and other partner organizations and instructors with a similar passion for helping underrepresented groups.”
-- Ron Vasquez, Director, JSA

Collaborators: MESA, Hughes-Raytheon retirement group, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Shades of Blue, United Launch Alliance, NCAR/UCAR, North High School, Metropolitan State College, Open World Learning, The Learning Source, Northrop-Grumman, Arapahoe Douglas Works, Denver Workforce/OED, Project Management Institute, American Society for Quality, Sundyne Corporation, Center for Space Entrepreneurship, IAAS, Career Education Center, Challenger Learning Center, SpaceTec, Colorado Space Grant Consortium, West High School, Lincoln High School, Jefferson High School, DSST, Goodwill, Suave Magazine, Hispanic Business Magazine, East High School, Colorado School of Mines, Rite of Passage Charter School, AGI, League for Innovation, Trio, Career Opportunity Center, Smokey Hill High School, AIAA, and American High School.