In 1992, a group of farsighted leaders posed a thought-provoking question: “What kind of academic program would it take to prepare Baltimore City students for national competitions in mathematics, science, technology, and related fields?” The answer came from The Abell Foundation, which established The Ingenuity Project as a champion for learning in science and mathematics.
The Ingenuity Project began by accepting a highly able group of sixth grade students at two middle schools who embarked on a rigorous program to accelerate learning and prepare them for high school. The high school program at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, followed in 1997. That program, for motivated students who excel in mathematics and science, produced students who have qualified for the Siemens Westinghouse Competition and the Regeneron (formerly Intel) Science Talent Search finals. Graduates have been successful at such notable institutions as the Johns Hopkins University, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Stanford, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Over the twenty-five-year history of Ingenuity, programs have been launched at various middle schools to meet the needs of students and the city. The curriculum, faculty, and staff have evolved to “raise the bar” in preparing highly competitive students for what is now called STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
In the past fifteen years, The Ingenuity Project’s outcomes were so impressive that it became a highly sought-after alternative to surrounding private schools for more upper and middle-class families, thus shifting the demographics. In the fall of 2016, the Board of Directors and staff compiled and studied the outcomes and trends from the past five years. They began a planning process to set forth new goals and targets for the year 2020 to increase the number of under-represented students and students from underserved communities enrolled in The Ingenuity Project and accepted to selective colleges. Ingenuity is now working on its next five-year strategic plan, engaging its entire community in drafting goals to be the best student-centered advanced STEM program for the next generation of diverse STEM leaders.
