Letter from the Chancellor
At Washington University in St. Louis, one of our highest goals is to contribute positively to our home community of St. Louis, and to partner in effecting meaningful, constructive change in the region. Investing in St. Louis schools is crucial to achieving this goal, as they nurture the minds that will shape our city’s future. Our institution is committed to partnering with local educators, leveraging our strengths to support their efforts.
Earlier this year, I sat down with local superintendents over breakfast to discuss WashU’s partnerships with the region’s K-12 schools. During this conversation, leaders expressed a desire for regular updates from WashU that include opportunities for educators and students to engage with the university. In partnership with a wide range of leaders at the university, we are proud to share our first newsletter with you.
This newsletter is just one part of our plan to support local students and educators. A key pillar of our strategic vision is to expand access to a WashU education to highly-qualified students from all backgrounds, regardless of their family’s financial resources, and to remove obstacles on their path to fulfilling their potential.
As a first step in this initiative, in 2019 we introduced the WashU Pledge program, which provides for the full cost of an undergraduate education at WashU, including tuition, fees, housing, and meals, to students from Missouri and southern Illinois with annual family incomes of $75,000 or less.
Additionally, we are focused on K-12 educational opportunities through the Institute for School Partnership (ISP), which serves 67 districts including 344 schools in the region. In 2023, ISP worked with 5,056 educators through collaborative programming. Through its partnerships with local schools and its work to bridge research and practice, ISP is closing the education gap for tens of thousands of students in the region.
Along with institution-led efforts such as ISP, WashU schools, departments, and affiliated groups are working to expand educational access in our region. Initiatives including the Young Scientist Program at the School of Medicine and the Alberti Program at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts bring local students to campus for hands-on learning and educational opportunities. We know experiences like these are integral to helping young minds discover their passions and all a university has to offer.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to working with school leaders to advance equitable, quality education in our region. We hope this newsletter will generate meaningful conversations about ways we can partner with you to make education more accessible for all St. Louisans. We look forward to working with you on impactful projects that create a more vibrant and equitable region, one that inspires present and future generations of students and educators.
Sincerely,
Andrew D. Martin
Chancellor
Opening Doors
Sitting in Brookings Quadrangle on Oct. 3, 2019, at Washington University in St. Louis, Ronné Turner, vice provost for admissions & financial aid, knew what was coming. And yet.
“To actually hear the words out loud — it made it real,” Turner recalls. “I knew this was going to make a big difference to our students, to our university and to our region.”
Turner is referring to the WashU Pledge, the bold scholarship initiative Chancellor Andrew D. Martin unveiled during his inaugural address that day. The pledge, Martin announced, would provide all Pell-eligible admitted students from Missouri and southern Illinois a free WashU education — tuition, housing, food, fees, books, even money for a laptop.
Read more in this story from Washington Magazine.
Resources for Educators and Students
Admissions
Meet Justin Wilson
Justin Wilson joined the Undergraduate Admissions team in 2021. In his role as associate director, he leads the university’s recruitment efforts in the greater St. Louis region. Justin is no stranger to the St. Louis region; through previous roles at Truman State University, Fontbonne University, and now WashU, he has recruited and served students from area high schools and community-based organizations for nearly a decade. The Admissions team encourages you to reach out to Justin via phone (314-935-4617) or email (justinw@wustl.edu) with any questions. He can also assist in scheduling a high school visit, WashU campus visit, financial aid presentation, or essay writing workshop. Justin looks forward to collaborating with you to prepare your students for a successful college search and beyond.
College Prep Program
In 2014, WashU launched the College Prep Program (CPP) to help talented high school students from our region succeed in college. The program is a no-cost, four-year commitment with an immersive learning experience, customized support, Summer Academy, and year-round academic and enrichment experiences, including college preparation workshops and activities centered on personal and professional development. Scholars are also able to earn college credits through the program.
CPP is invested in helping graduates leave the program prepared to excel – academically and socially – at a college or university that best matches their interests and needs. CPP graduates have matriculated to colleges across the nation. Members of the cohort that graduated on May 5 received admissions offers from approximately 75 colleges across the nation, including WashU, Howard University, and the University of Chicago. To learn more about the 2024 College Prep Scholars, visit the CPP website. For more information about program and how your students can apply, please contact the CPP team via email at collegeprep@wustl.edu.
Institute for School Partnership
Anyone looking for an example of what it means to be “In Louis For St. Louis,” need look no further than Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP), a respected leader committed to elevating and addressing the critical need for high-quality, equitable education in our region. Longtime Executive Director Vicki May says the key to regional collaboration is asking questions, then listening to the real answers.
“If you want a great city, you have to have great schools, and the way you do that is one teacher, one educator, one school at a time,” May says. “It takes time and trust to build relationships that are authentic and sustainable. You have to show up in a spirit of collaboration.”
In 2023, more than 5,000 educators from 344 schools across 67 districts, charter networks and 19 private school sites participated in one or more ISP programs. As the school year begins and you get to know more about the ISP, explore these innovative programs designed to invite inquiry from learners and educators alike:
- mySci, a go-to curricular resource for over 4,700 K-8 educators who inspire students in 265+ schools each year with engaging, standards-aligned, hands-on science learning. Launched in 2005, the kit-based resource is co-designed and regularly refined to meet emerging, authentic needs of teachers.
- Math314, a program designed to improve mathematics teaching and learning by developing educators who foster equitable learning environments. The program supports teachers to become learners and leaders who encourage inquiry, risk-taking and experiencing math in rich and meaningful ways.
- WashU’s ASSET program, a free resource that distributes kits, curriculum modules and professional learning. Through the program, teachers nationwide are bringing science alive with microscopes and Tetrahymena, a single-celled organism that is ideal for observation and classroom learning.
To learn more about these and other ISP programs, please contact Anne Heinrich at a.heinrich@wustl.edu.
Young Scientist Program (YSP)
The Young Scientist Program (YSP) at Washington University School of Medicine aims to attract K-12 students to scientific careers and increase the participation of historically-excluded groups in science by bringing resources and scientists directly to teachers and students in the St. Louis area.
YSP has three separate branches with different targeted age ranges and community focus:
- Teaching Teams: A free program with volunteer-led hands-on science demonstrations and lessons for any K-12 classroom. Learn more here or contact Nicole Osborn, Director of Teaching Teams.
- Continued Mentoring: A free, reliable and continued mentorship program for students in grades 9-12 at specific St. Louis city high schools. Students are mentored by WashU grad students to foster scientific interests and prepare for life post-high school. Learn more here or contact Aidan Flynn, Director of Continued Mentoring.
- Summer Focus: A program for highly-motivated high school students in the Greater St. Louis area that provides funded eight-week summer research internships at Washington University in St. Louis. Please note: Applications for the 2025 Summer Focus program will open in November 2024. Learn more here or contact Hailey Modi, Director of Summer Focus 2025.
Do you have additional questions, comments, or concerns about YSP? Please complete this form. A YSP volunteer will be in contact with you soon.
Science Educator Partnership Award (SEPA)
Run through the McDonnell Genome Institute (MGI) at Washington University, the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) provides school-year educational support as well as summer research opportunities. During the school year, SEPA partners with schools and organizations, such as Jennings Senior High School and The Village314 to increase educational success through classwork and ACT test prep tutoring. Additionally, SEPA has opportunities for teachers to bring their students to the WashU Medicine campus for programs focused on genomics and potential research careers that provide students with a glimpse into grad school and college. During the summer, high school students can apply to the SEPA Summer Research Experience and spend a month learning the basics of research through hands-on activities and designing their own research question based on real-world data.
Applications for the next Summer Research Experience will open in early 2025. School visits and requests for ACT test prep tutoring can be submitted on the SEPA website.
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
The WashU Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts offers opportunities for students and educators to learn more about art and architecture including the Alberti Program. The program, which is supported by the Office for Socially Engaged Practice at the Sam Fox School, allows St. Louis students grades 4 through 8 to explore architecture and design through hands-on learning. In 2024, the Alberti Program welcomed 35 elementary and middle school students from 23 schools across the St. Louis region.
Applications for the Alberti Program open in early 2025. Learn more about the program here.
Performing Arts Department
The WashU Performing Arts Department (PAD) offers group rates for parties of 10 or more. Contact the PAD for details at 314-935-5858 or pad@wustl.edu. (Please use the subject line “Group Rates.”)
Additionally, the PAD offers discounted tickets for students.
View a list of upcoming events on the PAD website.
Department of Music
The Washington University Department of Music is proud to present over thirty free musical events every semester. These events, which are open to the public, feature internationally acclaimed musicians and lecturers as well as the talented students of Washington University.
The next free concert, “(Re)Discovering the Musical Legacy of Julia Perry,” will be held Saturday, September 28th at 7:30 PM at the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall in the 560 Music Center in University City. This event is co-sponsored by WashU’s CRE2 and the Chamber Project St. Louis.
Learn more about the Julia Perry concert and other upcoming Department of Music events here.
Institutional Resource
WashU offers a variety of summer learning opportunities for everyone in the St. Louis community, from nursery school to adult students, premedical students to writers and artists.
Learn more here.