In the first year of working with students, Project ATLAS (formerly Project Guts) reached 63 students in 3 schools and one out of school; two-fifths were 5th-graders, with the remainder split almost equally between the ninth and twelfth grades. Two sites were established within the inner city of Fort Myers and great interest was spawned in other areas of Lee County including East Fort Myers, Immokalee and Estero. Attendance was generally high, with two-thirds of participating students attending at least 75 percent of sessions. In addition to addressing student needs, the project has engaged community members in its activities, exposing them to the different aspects of E-STEM, technology tools and pedagogy. Six community members served as Project ATLAS leaders and attended 20 hours of planning sessions with community members and school representatives over the course of the school year.

Project ATLAS has succeeded in providing program-level and curricular support that enables students to mentor other younger peers with very limited ATLAS facilitator interaction. Most importantly, Project ATLAS has created a community of teachers, students, and researchers who are interested in and committed to continuing with the program, and thus to better address the needs of the U.S. in this century. The demand for GUTS in remote areas with limited transportation led to the creation of our mobile lab in a program now called ATLAS.

OUR MISSION: IWMF empowers youth to make positive life choices through E-STEM based learning and evidence based mentoring programs focused on increasing academic achievement, strengthening community, and providing exposure to opportunities to improve socioeconomic mobility. Our mission is founded on the following principles:

Commitment: Inspire positive friendships, strong interpersonal skills, and instill a sense of hope in the future.
Responsibility: Empower youth to establish goals and follow through on commitments.
Possibility: Expand the perspective of young people to make them aware of life’s possibilities.
Support: Surround young people in a caring, inclusive learning environment, because individuals are dramatically influenced by their support system.

OUR VISION: It is our vision to build human potential and strengthen the community, youth, and adults through stimulating learning activities that engage adolescents as community leaders, increase their life skills, and help bridge multiple socioeconomic, educational and ethnic cultures.

Impact of our programs will be:

1. Students have greater opportunity in E-STEM
2. Youth are prepared for high-tech careers
3. Communities are stronger in health, reduced crime, and economic improvement
4. Community have access to increased education and engagement with youth, technology, arts and environment