$2 Million Atlantic County STEM Program Begins With First Class of ACIT Students

Sixteen high school juniors are earning Stockton college credit as Levine-Gormley initiative moves from announcement to classroom

ATLANTIC CITY — A $2 million initiative designed to create a pipeline from Atlantic County high schools to college and ultimately local STEM careers has moved from planning to the classroom.

Sixteen juniors from the Atlantic County Institute of Technology have begun taking a college-level computer science course at Stockton University's Atlantic City campus as the first high school cohort in the Levine-Gormley STEM Scholars Pathway Program.

The students are taking Programming and Problem Solving while continuing their junior year at ACIT. They will receive college credit for the course, which is also a core requirement for Stockton's bachelor's degree program in computer science.

For ACIT junior Sean Scott, it is an opportunity to take an existing interest in science and technology to another level.

“I've always wanted to do more STEM and focus on math, and this program reaffirms that,” Scott said. “I've taken computer science at ACIT where we focus on coding, but now I'm excited to build upon that and learn more programming and problem solving.”

$2 million commitment starts producing results

Stockton announced the Levine-Gormley STEM Scholars Pathway Program in January following a $2 million commitment from the Levine and Gormley Family Foundations.

The initiative is intended to do more than provide high school students with an early college course.

It combines dual-enrollment opportunities for ACIT students with scholarships and support for Atlantic County students who pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees at Stockton.

The program uses a cohort model, grouping students with similar STEM interests while providing advising and professional development.

Students are also expected to receive career preparation, internship opportunities, interaction with industry representatives, networking events and additional visits to Stockton's Atlantic City campus.

Lee and Sandra Levine and former New Jersey state Sen. Bill Gormley and Virginia Gormley, longtime Atlantic County residents and philanthropists, provided the financial commitment behind the program.

Lee Levine and Bill Gormley were on hand Wednesday to welcome the first ACIT students to Stockton Atlantic City.

“I admire you because you're all taking courses I was afraid to take,” Gormley told the students. “You're here because you're bright, you worked hard and you qualified.”

Building skills before graduating high school

For some of the students, the program provides an opportunity to begin exploring career interests before they have even completed high school.

ACIT junior Isabella Holloway hopes eventually to study digital fields in college.

“Being a part of this program wasn't a part of my plan, but I'm really grateful I was accepted,” Holloway said. “I hope to learn programming, web design and app development so I can go out into the world with more skills under my belt.”

That early exposure is a central part of the program's strategy.

Rather than waiting until students enroll in college to introduce them to advanced STEM coursework and career opportunities, the pathway begins while they are still at ACIT.

Keeping talent in Atlantic County

Stockton officials say there is also a broader goal: encouraging talented local students to envision careers without necessarily having to leave South Jersey.

“This program creates a pathway for talented students to see a future for themselves right here in Atlantic County,” said Dan Nugent, Stockton's vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the Stockton University Foundation.

“By giving students access to college-level STEM education while they're still in high school, we're helping them build the skills and confidence to pursue careers in growing fields and ultimately strengthening the community and workforce they call home,” Nugent said.

The first ACIT cohort is the latest step in putting the $2 million initiative into practice.

In June, four incoming Stockton students were selected as the program's first scholarship recipients. Those scholarships support students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics at the university.

Now, with 16 ACIT juniors attending class at Stockton Atlantic City, the high-school component of the pathway is underway as well.

The program comes as Stockton continues to expand the role of its Atlantic City campus beyond traditional undergraduate education, while also confronting broader enrollment and financial challenges.

As South Jersey NewsBeat recently reported, Stockton welcomed more than 1,300 first-year students in its Class of 2030 this fall, with more than half identifying as first-generation college students and approximately 91% receiving institutional grants or scholarships. The university has also been dealing with a structural budget deficit and enrollment pressures that have prompted increased attention to recruitment and retention.

Programs that establish relationships with local students before they graduate high school could therefore have benefits on both sides: giving Atlantic County students an earlier path into college while creating another potential pipeline of future Stockton students.

For the 16 ACIT juniors who arrived at the Atlantic City campus this fall, however, that long-term strategy begins much more simply — by taking their first college course while they're still in high school.