April 2024 Newsletter
Alumni Story: Arveal Johnson Looks Back at EIS Arveal Johnson, formerly Keetch, and her sister Joy were part of Tom Watt’s after-school science club while attending Ocean View Elementary. Their mother…
Read HereBeginning with a 10-gallon aquarium, elementary school teacher Tom Watts began a club that would grow to impact thousands of students throughout the years as a science enrichment center.
Aspirational Roots & Inspirational Growth
In 1964, as the Civil Rights Act, Space Race, and Great Society brought promise of a brighter future, Tom Watts started a science club in his Kennedy Elementary School classroom to ensure his students would have the opportunity to be part of that brighter future.
The club surged to 70 members by 1967. Watts expanded the program to an abandoned house that the City of San Diego agreed to rent for one dollar. Within five years, the National Science Foundation recognized EIS as one of two programs in the U.S. and one of five in the world focusing on hands-on science for youth.
A Beacon of Community Progress
Since day one, parents, teachers, and countless others have worked to support EIS’s students and mission. The Salk Institute, Rosenberg Foundation and Scripps Institute of Oceanography became EIS’s first organizational partners between 1968 and 1969. Since then, supporting organizations and businesses have been integral to EIS’s success.
In 2004, passionate EIS students and alumni rallied community support to raise $6 million to construct a new 15,000-square foot facility. The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, the Kresge Foundation and other anonymous donors committed challenge grants that helped galvanize support from dozens of other local, state and national institutions.
TODAY
In its six-decade history, EIS has served thousands of students, many of whom have gone on to thrive in careers in medicine, engineering, computing, and more. We continue to inspire more students each year to love science, become critical thinkers, and develop a “STEM Identity.”
Support EIS
Support from individuals, community organizations, businesses and other partners is fundamental to the pursuit of EIS’s mission. See how you can contribute
What’s Going On at EIS
March 2024 Newsletter
Your Support in Action Your support is helping to support educational equity for thousands of youth in southeastern San Diego. We are on our way to serve over 2,000 students from…
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February 2024 Newsletter
Honoring Black History On Jan 27th, participants from Our Genetic Legacy shared about their recent travels to Ghana and connecting with local Ghanaian high school students for their mapping mission here…
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