About Us
Who We Are
The K-12 Initiative is a health careers pipeline program that serves middle and high school students in the Kansas City, Kansas area. The program provides hands-on STEM learning through mentoring, small-group labs, exploration of technology and film, integrated real world problem solution building, gardening, one-on-one internships, research and more. The K-12 Initiative is housed at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the University of Kansas School of Medicine and is partnered with the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, and Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Mission
Our mission is to increase the number of students from urban areas into higher education in health and STEM careers.
Vision
K-12 Initiative envisions a world where your healthcare provider and STEM professionals look and come from the communities they serve.
At Our Core
Value I: Diversity
Celebration of all backgrounds and voices, empower us to connect, grow and improve our community's health.
Value II: Inclusion
Increasing diverse representation empowers engagement from diverse communities.
Value III: Awareness
Understanding of communities and systems provide students with the knowledge of how to be change makers and future leaders.
Value IV: Skill Development
Real-world learning curriculum provides students with the environment to develop academic, self and workforce skills