What is the name of your organization?
Culturally Relevant Science, Inc.
What is the name of your solution?
CRsci's Digital Learning Hub
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
A digital hub delivering culturally responsive K–12 STEM courses that reimagine science education for underserved communities.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Atlanta, GA, USA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
USA
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
We are addressing the lack of culturally responsive science curriculum in K12 public schools that serve Black, Brown, and economically disadvantaged students. Traditional STEM curricula often fail to reflect the cultural identities and lived experiences of these students, contributing to disengagement, underachievement, and persistent opportunity gaps.
In Georgia, nearly 2 million students attend public schools. 56.4% identify as Black or Brown, and 69.6% are economically disadvantaged. Our pilot district, Atlanta Public Schools (APS), reflects similar demographics. According to the Georgia Department of Education’s 2023 CCRPI Report, fewer than 50% of APS students demonstrate proficiency in science, revealing not a lack of capability, but a lack of connection to content.
Nationally, this issue mirrors broader equity gaps in STEM education. By developing a digital hub of culturally relevant STEM content, created by and for educators who reflect these communities, we aim to increase student engagement, academic mastery, and long term interest in STEM. Starting in Atlanta and scaling outward, our solution bridges culture with curriculum to foster deeper belonging and higher achievement.
What is your solution?
We offer a digital curriculum solution that provides standards aligned, culturally responsive science courses for K12 schools. Our core product is a full year biology course intentionally built to reflect the identities, histories, and lived experiences of underrepresented students, particularly Black and Brown youth.
We launched in 2021 as a YouTube channel, creating science videos that quickly reached over 250,000 views. In response to educator demand, we expanded into free digital resources and began consulting on curriculum writing.
In 2023, we piloted our complete biology course at an APS high school. Designed from real classroom experience, the course includes lesson plans, instructional videos, hands-on labs, activities, and assessments, all centered on cultural relevance and student voice. We chose biology because it is Georgia’s standardized tested high school science course, directly tied to school performance ratings.
Currently, we deliver the course through Google Drive, giving teachers day-by-day access to everything they need to teach effectively. We also maintain a free supplemental learning hub on Wix and offer animated videos on YouTube.
Our long term goal is to develop a dedicated learning management system that enhances interactivity and allows our curriculum to scale across districts and regions.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution primarily serves Title-I high schools in Atlanta that educate Black and Brown students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. These students are frequently labeled as disengaged in STEM, when in reality they are underserved by a curriculum that fails to connect with their identities and lived experiences. Their teachers also face challenges including limited prep time, high burnout, and a lack of relevant instructional resources.
Our digital platform addresses both needs by providing ready to use, standards aligned science courses that center identity and representation. This reduces the workload on teachers while boosting engagement and achievement among students.
In our 2024 pilot at an APS high school, four teachers implemented our biology course with over 380 students. As a result, science mastery rates rose nearly 20%, and biology teacher retention increased by 36%. All teachers returned for the first time in seven years. Teachers praised the curriculum’s rigor and accessibility, while students appreciated its relatable, hands-on nature.
By expanding across APS and eventually to other Metro Atlanta districts, we aim to shift how science is taught, helping underrepresented students not only succeed in science, but see themselves in it.
