Following the belief that diversity breeds innovation in scientific endeavors, there is a national push for more diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce in order to maintain national economic competitiveness. Currently, STEM-related employment is only 28% non-White; however, greater efforts to recruit and retain underrepresented minorities should increase this figure. Amidst the attention given to supporting “leaky pipelines,” less emphasis has been placed on mitigating challenges associated with bringing diverse cultures together. This article presents a framework for supporting underrepresented minorities in building STEM-relevant skills and enhancing their ability to collaborate with peers different from themselves.

, where he studies the electrical & magnetic properties of materials. His interests are in multidisciplinary engineering education and mentoring for student success in technical fields, where Anderson has experience in both areas. Anderson earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Florida A&M University/Florida State University College of Engineering (2003), and his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Central Florida (2005), where his specialization was Electromagnetics.

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Having access to strong algebra instruction in middle school can prepare students to complete higher levels of math in high school and thus to be competitive for college and gain access to important technological fields of study at advanced levels (Nasir et al, 2006). Studies show that the issue of math and youth has a farreaching and devastating impact in other aspects on students' lives throughout their lifetime. Consequences include limiting opportunities for students in higher education, employment, and earnings (Lee, 2002). Numerous math tutors have been developed and designed in response to the understanding of the importance of mathematics. For example, SoftMath has introduced Algebrator, an intelligent algebra tutor specifically designed to teach pre-college algebra; the student can enter any symbolic problem the tutor will then solve the problem step-by-step and provide contextsensitive explanations (Algebra Tutor, 2007). Additionally, Cognitive Tutor by Carnegie Learning, is an intelligent instructional software, designed as a curricula to be used in a classroom environment where it combines computerbased training, text, and teacher-led classroom instruction that supports guided learning by doing (Aleven & Koedinger, 2002). Unfortunately, even with these targeted tutors, there is still a huge gap that exists between minority students and their Caucasian counterparts in mathematics performance. This racial inequality in student outcomes between minority students and their Caucasian counterparts has raised a multitude of concerns and resulted in a significant body of empirical research (Lee, 2002). Despite decades of attention, gaps in the achievement of minority students remains one of the most pressing problems in education and has maintained its place in the forefront of discussion regarding African American urban youth (Johnston & Viadero, 2000). Studies have shown that African American youth continue to lag