How NMSI Is Helping Los Angeles Students Succeed

Samantha Jimenez, a 2020 graduate of San Pedro High in Los Angeles, is saving thousands in college costs after receiving credit hours for passing multiple Advanced Placement (AP) math, language, and humanities exams. She thanks the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) for providing AP study supports with expert coaches and covering the $94 cost per exam (for students at NMSI partner schools).

“I was struggling in calculus, so having the extra help on problems and review from NMSI helped me a lot,” said Jimenez, who is considering an environmental engineering degree because she’s concerned about climate change and wants to protect California’s redwood forests. 

Online delivery is not new for NMSI, a Dallas-based nonprofit that continues to build on its experience to maintain and grow supports for students, teachers, and school systems across the country. Focusing on its mission to serve students furthest from opportunity, NMSI is working with school partners to determine digital access needs, and will help them connect to hardware and broadband providers to remove barriers to academic achievement. 

“Inequality appears in digital learning, particularly for Latino and Black communities,” said Bernard Harris, Jr., NMSI’s CEO and the first Black astronaut to complete a spacewalk. “I think about the urgency in forming partnerships to better serve communities with economic disparities.”

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