PUFSTEM is dedicated to improving STEM literacy for at-risk students in impoverished communities. It represents a recognized national next-generation high impact academic model. Current courses include science, math, and writing tutorials, computer and financial literacy, and computer aided design (CAD). The practices, strategies, and programming are built upon a foundation of identified national best practices which are designed to improve under-served minority and low-income student growth, close achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, increase high school graduation rates and improve instructor effectiveness.

One challenge for PUFSTEM is to help at-risk youth recognize how the science, design & technology, computer science, engineering and mathematics that they study at school or college can lead to rich and varied career pathways. This provides an enormous opportunity for PUFSTEM teachers to engage young people with these strategically important subjects.

By reaching outside their own classroom, teachers and lecturers collaborate across subjects, enhance and enrich the program curriculum, make links with the world of work, and use varied contexts to help at-risk youth relate school STEM subjects with their real-world experience.