The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) has been committed to providing opportunities for Latino youth since its founding. NCLR's Escalera Program: Taking Steps to Success has been a core component of those efforts since 2001, when it was first launched as an after school youth workforce development program in the Los Angeles area. NCLR Escalera STEM is offered to the Gulf states Houston Gateway Academy is one of the schools who offers the program.

STEM refers to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.